On the Wings of a Phoenix
by makoyi
Summary: AU, where nothing as simple as good vs. evil. A summer spent trapped in Number 4 and barred from contact with his friends leads to Harry accepting an offer to correspond with a Death Eater. The consequences of thinking for oneself are far reaching.
1. Prologue

"On the Wings of a Phoenix"

**Summary:** _AU, where nothing as simple as good vs. evil. __A summer spent trapped in Number 4 and barred from contact with his friends leads to Harry accepting an offer to correspond with a Death Eater. He learns several things that leave him seriously considering if his relationships with Dumbledore and the Order are what they seem. The consequences of thinking for oneself are far reaching._  
**Disclaimer:** This is JK Rowling's world. I'm just borrowing it. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

The portkey had deposited Harry and Cedric in the middle of a great, dark field peppered with standing stones and yew trees. Wormtail and the ghostly figure of Voldemort had appeared.

"You know what to do," the ghost had said dismissively to the short man and Wormtail had nodded and sent the killing curse at Cedric.

Then Wormtail had dragged Harry to the central standing stone in the largest circle, the one that read _HIC IACET ARTORIVS REX QVONDAM REXQVE FVTVRVS, _and bound him tightly with conjured rope.

And then Voldemort had called Wormtail back to Cedric's body and ordered the rodent to cut open Cedric's chest and remove the heart. Harry hadn't watched.

The next thing Harry had seen was the bubbling and sparking cauldron spewing thickening clouds of steam that blurred the outline of the nearest stones and trees. Then the ghost had come into Harry's field of vision and ordered Wormtail to start the ceremony.

Wormtail had lifted from the ground at the base of the cauldron the limp, robe-clad body of a man and hoisted it with difficulty into the potion. And then Wormtail had spoken to the night.

_"Seed of man, given of himself, sacrificed so that he might be whole once more..." _

He had tossed the red heart into the cauldron, muttering uselessly to himself as he did so.

_"Flesh of an innocent, unknowingly given, offered in the name of the gods..." _

A snapping sound, not unlike thunder, had sounded from where Cedric's body lay. Harry's attention was drawn to it just as the wind picked up and began whipping and howling across the field.

The blood had vanished and the slices from Wormtail's knife had sealed themselves shut. Cedric looked no different than when he had fallen.

A hiss from the cauldron had drawn Harry's attention back as sparks flew in all directions and the potion turned a vivid, shimmering blue.

And then Wormtail was whimpering. He pulled the long, thin, bloody knife from his cloak again. His voice broke into petrified sobs.

_"Bone – of the servant – w-willingly given – you will – revive – your master..." _

He had stretched his right hand out in front of him – the hand with the missing finger. He had gripped the dagger very tightly in his left hand and swung upward.

And Harry had not watched then either. He had not opened his eyes again until he felt Wormtail struggling one handed to draw blood from Harry's arm and catch it in a vial. It too went into the potion.

_"Blood of the enemy... forcibly taken... you will... heal your foe." _

The magic had worked. Harry had wished it wouldn't. Voldemort's ghost had disappeared and the potion had startled sloshing and splashing over the edges of the cauldron as the man inside stood. Voldemort had been returned to his body. The dripping wet man that was Lord Voldemort was nothing like the monster that Harry had imagined... he looked so human, so normal... it was frightening.

Eventually, that man's attention had fallen on Harry.

"You, Harry Potter, stand on the spot where King Arthur fell in battle. But I don't suppose you would know that story. Could you even name three or our gods and goddesses?" He had paused to scoff. "Of course not. Too many 'modern' wizards are told that such tales should not be discussed in polite company. How wrong they are, Mr. Potter.

"Dumbledore," he had spat, "is so sure that it is better to leave our young, our future, to filthy, ignorant muggles.

"Muggles like my father. Have you heard about him, boy? He didn't like magic. When he found out that my mother was a witch, he left her and went back to his useless muggle parents before I was even born. And my mother, she died giving birth to me... lived just long enough to name me after my good-for-nothing father... leaving me in a Muggle orphanage with more ignorant, disgusting muggles."

His pacing and storytelling were both interrupted by the sound of swishing cloaks.

"Ah, but my _true_ family returns..."

"Welcome, my warriors," Voldemort had said quietly. "Thirteen years... thirteen years since last we met. Yet you answer my call as though it were yesterday... We are still united under the Dark Mark, then! _Or are we_?"

He had then returned to pacing, walking the circle, hands clasped behind his back, chin held high.

"I sense guilt," he had said. "There is a shiver here, and not simply the wild magic of this field, no. You are guilty, and you know it."

Perhaps against logic, many in the circle did shiver, as though each member of the group longed, but did not dare, to step back from him.

"I see you all, whole and healthy, with your powers intact – such prompt appearances! – and I ask myself... why did this band of wizards never come to the aid of their master, to whom they swore eternal loyalty?"

"And I answer myself," Voldemort had whispered, "they must have believed my broken. They thought I was gone so they did not search for me, for a cure to my predicament. They did not have the strength of heart, the fortitude of spirit to continue the fight for our cause, so they pretended it did not matter. They pleaded innocence and ignorance and bewitchment... they begged at the feet of those meek sheep that would gladly follow the fools who offer a very temporary salvation, before they throw their own to the 'mercy' of the ignorant masses.

"Perhaps they believed that those fools were greater powers... perhaps they now pay allegiance to another... perhaps to that champion of commoners, of Mudbloods and Muggles, Albus Dumbledore?"

At the mention of Dumbledore's name, the members of the circle had stirred, and some had muttered and shook their heads. Voldemort had ignored them.

"It is a disappointment to me... I confess myself disappointed..."

//-//-//-//-//-//-//-//-

They had gone to the Department of Mysteries, had found the Hall of Prophecy, had made their way to row ninety-seven. Lucius Malfoy and a pack of Death Eaters had been there. They wanted the prophecy with Harry's name on it but he hadn't given it to them.

Then Bellatrix Lestrange, a woman-turned-skeleton by Azkaban, had wanted to torture Ginny.

Harry had caught a glimpse of a strange look between two of the Death Eaters Bellatrix had ordered to seize Ginny.

"Bella," Lucius had growled. When she gave no indication that she had heard him, still looking Ginny over predatorily, as if planning which limb to take off first, he had nodded to two big Death Eaters who then stepped forward and each took one of Bellatrix's arms.

She had tried unsuccessfully to wrench out of their grip. "NO!" she had shrieked. "I get the girl... she's mine. I want to make her bleed."

While the two burly Death Eaters whispered hurriedly, eventually casting the Imperius curse on Bellatrix and ordering her to us her wand only to defend herself, Lucius Malfoy had again tried to negotiate with Harry.

Eventually, the negotiations had turned into a full out battle. Bellatrix had fought off the Imperious and killed Sirius. Not long after, Harry had found himself in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic, watching Voldemort, Bellatrix, and Dumbledore. Voldemort had possessed him, saying

"_Kill me now, Dumbledore... Kill us both. Or will you wait for another way to fulfill your precious prophecy?"_

_Let the pain stop,_ Harry had thought. _Let him kill us... End it, Dumbledore... Death is nothing compared to this... _

_And I'll see Sirius again..._

And as Harry's heart filled with emotion, the creature had hissed quietly and Harry had felt an answering, identical feeling of loss grow with his own and overwhelm him. The last thing he had felt before the pain was gone and he blacked out was the impression of comfort and safety on the wake of the other presence.

But then, Harry had startled awake to find himself lying facedown on the floor, his glasses gone, shivering as though he lay upon ice, not wood, and there were voices echoing through the hall, more voices than there should have been.


	2. An Unsanctioned Trip to Gringotts

"Hurry up, boy!" Vernon bellowed from the driver's seat.

Harry was loading his trunk into the back of Uncle Vernon's car at King's Cross having just returned from a depressing fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He opened the door and was setting Hedwig's cage down in the back seat when a large grey mail owl landed with a thud on the roof of the car. For a second, he was shocked but Vernon's shout brought him out of it.

"What was that, boy!?"

"Err, nothing, Uncle Vernon. Just hit my head, that's all," he said, quickly reached out and took the letter from the bird and shooing it away. Glancing around, no other people seemed to have noticed. With a sigh of relief, he knelt and climbed into the car.

Once Vernon had started driving and Petunia and Dudley were busy discussing studies at Smeltings, Harry opened the letter and read.

_Dear Mr. H. Potter,_

_I have arranged for this letter to be sent to you via Gringotts immediately following my death. I am the Secret Keeper for Potter Cottage (located at the end of the shortest lane in Eyrie's Edge) but once I die, you, as the Potter family heir, will need to have the Fidelia Charm recast within a week of my death in order to maintain the continuity of protections on the property. At your earliest convenience, you should make use of the Gringotts office that handles these matters. Don't forget to take this letter with you as it is stained with my blood, willingly-given, that is required for the spell transfer._

_Furthermore, I wish to apologize for keeping your family home from you. I do not know what passed between Anna and Henry Potter, your great-aunt and -uncle, and Albus Dumbledore but I was forbidden from inviting you to the house by them all. As my dear friends have already died and you won't receive this letter until I am dead, I no longer worry about my defiance. I beg your forgiveness for allowing your exile._

_Sincerely,_

_Martin Holden III_

Harry looked at the letter confusedly. He glanced out the window and noted that it wasn't all that far to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Uncle Vernon, I need to stop at Charing Cross. I'll pay you 100 pounds to take me there now and wait for me to finish." It was a long shot trying to get the Dursleys to go out of their way to do anything for him but maybe the money would sweeten the deal.

Vernon scoffed and ignored him but Petunia turned to look at Harry searchingly.

"Make it 250 and send that bird away for the summer and we'll take you."

Harry considered negotiating to keep Hedwig but the owl would probably be better off at Hermione's for the summer anyways and Harry didn't have much need beyond replying to his post. He could have the Order send an owl every week for him to check in with.

Harry agreed to Petunia's bargain and Vernon grumbled but turned the car around. Harry dug through his pockets in search of paper. He found a crumbled up scrap large enough for a quick note in the pocket with his wand. After borrowing a pen from Petunia, Harry wrote to ask Hermione to care for Hedwig over the summer and to ask the Order to send an owl when they wanted him to check in. That finished, he sat back to wait.

They were nearly there when it occurred to Harry that it would be a good idea to withdraw some spending money as well as the bribe. It was then that he realized he didn't have his vault key. He hoped that wouldn't be a problem.

When Vernon finally pulled the car into a parking space on Charing Cross road, Harry opened Hedwig's cage and tied the letter to her leg. Ignoring the protests of the Dursleys, he waited until no muggles were looking his way and let her fly out the window and off towards Hermione's house. He then climbed out of the car and walked the short distance to the Leaky Cauldron.

It was lucky for Harry that an elderly witch was already in the back courtyard of the pub when he arrived. He wasn't sure whether opening the arch to the alley would be considered Underage Magic but he had no need to find out as he could follow her through without using his own wand at all.

From there, Harry made his way down the alley, trying not to draw attention to himself and keeping an eye out for people to avoid. He was relieved when he arrived at Gringotts without incident. He approached the first available goblin teller and said, "Hi. I need to make a withdrawal and I also got a letter today about a 'Fidelia spell transfer' that I came to take care of."

"Name?" the goblin inquired.

"Harry Potter," he whispered tentatively.

"Do you have your vault key, Mr. Potter?"

"Umm, no. My friend's mother has it, I think. Is that a problem?" Harry asked hesitantly.

The goblin scowled at him. "Your key is not supposed to leave your possession."

"It was never in my possession," Harry muttered.

The goblin looked at him, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "If the key is not in your possession, is the person who has it a blood relation or your legal guardian?"

Harry shook his head.

The goblin glared at him and jabbed one of a row of tiny black buttons along the edge of his desk. "Just a moment then, sir."

Another goblin approached the desk and cleared his throat. "What seems to be the problem here, Leadfoot?"

"This young man's accounts will need to be examined for fraud and he will need his old key remotely destroyed and a new one made," Leadfoot replied testily.

The other goblin sighed and gestured towards Harry. "Follow me, sir."

Harry, about to protest that Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley would never steal from him and he didn't mind that they had his key as long as he could make a withdrawal when he needed it, had to hurry after the goblin silently instead as he was led around the desk and to the back wall where an obsidian door appeared. The goblin opened it and held it for Harry, then followed him through and continued to lead the way down an office corridor. Five minutes and many confusing turns later and Harry was led into a small office with walls lined with shelves of books and writing supplies, and a single table and four chairs. The goblin gestured for Harry to take a seat as he gathered a writing kit from the shelves and took a seat himself.

He passed over a blank roll of parchment and a quill and ordered in a no-nonsense tone of voice, "Write your full name on the page."

Harry did as he was asked, though he would have preferred to avoid such evidence that he had left Privet Drive.

The goblin took the parchment back and stroked the drying ink with a spindly finger. Rather than smearing, the ink words seemed to shoot tendrils across the page. The threads curled into words and numbers that quickly filled the roll. He passed a clean piece of parchment to Harry and said, "Write down every withdrawal or purchase you have personally made or authorized. Give as accurate a date and amount as possible."

While Harry attempted that, the goblin read through the information Harry's name had provided.

Harry found that his task wasn't as difficult as he had expected upon hearing it. He listed all the times he or Mrs. Weasley had bought school supplies, the purchase of his old Nimbus 2000, and the few other occasions when he had withdrawn or spent money himself. When he was finished, he handed back the paper.

The goblin spent several long minutes comparing the papers while Harry fidgeted absently.

"These are all of your withdrawals?"

Harry nodded.

"Are they all from vault 687?" the goblin asked.

"Of course. I don't have any other vaults, do I?" Harry asked confusedly.

The goblin scowled. "You also have vaults 331 and 612," he answered. "Though it doesn't appear that you did, I must still ask: did you hire or accept an account manager or authorize a Gringotts employee to make and manage investments?"

Harry, his eyes wide with shock over the news that he had more vaults, shook his head.

"So there is no reason for the withdrawals from vaults 331 and 612," the goblin stated, shaking his head and making several notations on a third sheet of parchment.

"The bad news, Mr. Potter, is that Gringotts is not accountable for fraud and will not repay your losses. The good news is that the fraud can be stopped as soon as I cancel your keys. Sadly, this misfortune has cost you roughly 7,000 galleons, approximately 11.5 of your cash wealth. Also, since you inherited, a property in Godric's Hollow and one in Holyhead were sold along with any possessions contained therein." After allowing a moment for this information to register in his client's mind, the goblin stood and said, "I will be just one moment while I retrieve the items necessary to cancel and reforge your keys."

Harry spent those few moments glaring angrily at the table. He had been kept in the dark about even more than he had imagined. For a moment, he thought perhaps this wasn't a mistake and the Order had done these things for a reason, maybe to pay off the Dursleys or to hire ward-weavers or who-knows-what-else. But then, he began to wonder why he hadn't been told that his parents' home had been sold. He had been hoping to visit Godric's Hollow some day, even if only to see what was left, ever since he had found out about it. He was considering how to ask Dumbledore about this without admitting that he had snuck around London when the goblin returned with a stone basin and several strange-looking tools.

He sat down across from Harry and set the basin between them. "A drop of blood in the basin is required to prove that you are Harry Potter."

Harry sighed and took the tiny blade the goblin had offered. With it, he nicked his finger and let it bleed until a large enough drop had formed to fall into the basin. He handed the blade back and stuck his lightly bleeding finger into his mouth.

The goblin did several voiceless spells on the blood and the basin, then added a lump of brass to the blood. A few more spells were cast and the brass melted and mixed with the blood. Quickly, it began to glow gold and separate into thirds. Each third shaped itself into a key. When the process ended, the goblin nodded and reached in to the basin to remove the keys. He passed them over to Harry one at a time. "This first one is for vault 687," he explained, pointing to the engraved numbers. "The second is for 331, and the third for 612. The old ones will have been destroyed by the spell."

Harry took all three from the goblin.

"I recommend that you not let those fall into untrustworthy hands," the goblin warned.

"Thank you," said Harry as he tucked them in to his pocket.

"Were you here to visit your vault or did you have other business with Gringotts today?"

"I did need to visit my vault but mostly I came because I got a letter from a dead Secret Keeper about the Fidelia charm needing to be recast on a property that I own."

"Yes, the Unplottable property. One moment while I summon an Inheritance Wizard." The goblin reached into the pocket of his trousers and withdrew a many-colored box the size of an apple. He touched several colors in sequence and then returned the box to his pocket. Within seconds, a short grey-haired man with a button nose entered the room.

"You summoned, sir?" he asked the goblin.

"That's right. This is the young man that needs the Fidelia Charm recast. The former Secret Keeper is deceased."

The wizard turned to Harry. "You have the Secret Keeper's blood?"

Harry handed over the letter with the small dot of dried blood in the corner.

"And you know the secret already, correct?"

"Yeah," said Harry.

"And you understand that once the spell is cast, no one but yourself and anyone you inform directly will know of the location of this Secret, even if the previous Secret Keeper had told them?"

Harry nodded. He was not unfamiliar with the workings of the Fidelius Charm.

"Now, what you may not know is that the Fidelia is different from the Fidelius in that this version allows you to Keep only part of a larger Secret. In this case, it is likely that the land around your home is under Fidelia Major and your home is under Fidelia Minor. Thus even though you are your home's Secret Keeper and can visit your home and invite people to visit you, unless the Secret Keeper of the surrounding land shares their secret, nothing happening outside your home will be visible. However, because your home is part of a larger Fidelia, it is known to the other Secret Keeper though they cannot enter your home unless you share your Secret with them.

"Do you have any questions?" he asked

Harry had many, many questions but none about the workings of the charm so he shook his head.

"Then just sit still, focus on the Secret information, and I'll cast the spell. It won't hurt a bit," he said with a smile. He drew his wand and made a series of complex wand motions and spoke a long spell.

Harry felt a bit lightheaded for an instant and then he could think of nothing but the location of Potter Cottage at the end of the shortest lane in Eyrie's Edge. Finally, the disconcerting feeling caused by the spell's effect on his mind was finished and he could again think of other things.

The first thing he noticed was that a ring, the gold still cold from sitting in a vault for years, had appeared on the index finger of his left hand.

"I see it worked then," the wizard said, gesturing to the ring.

"What is this for?" Harry asked, holding the hand with the ring up and wiggling that finger.

"It's the Family ring, of course."

When Harry's blank look persisted, the wizard continued.

"It signifies that you are head of the family and it acts as a portkey to take you and only you to your home. Just tap the crest or gem with your wand and say your family motto."

"What is my family motto?" Harry asked.

The wizard rolled his eyes and replied dismissively, "I'm not an expert on wizarding genealogy, child." To the goblin, he asked, "Was there anything else for me to do here?"

"No, that will be all," the goblin replied.

The wizard nodded and, with one last incredulous look at the teenage wizard, he left.

"So, Mr. Potter," the goblin said, "you wish to make a withdrawal?"

"Yes," Harry replied, still examining the ring, which was gold and ruby and inside the ruby there was an animated lion who was, at that moment, laying on its side and cleaning its forepaws.

"Until your vaults are examined by the Fraud Division, you will not be allowed to enter them. If you would specify an amount and from which vault you would like it taken, I will have a goblin retrieve it for you."

Harry took his eyes off the ring and looked blankly at the goblin for a moment while he calculated the amount he would need for a year's worth of spending money and for whoever went to get his school supplies at the end of the summer.

"Which vault doesn't matter. Can I get 75 galleons and 350 pounds?"

The goblin nodded and took the cube from his pocket again, manipulating certain colors in sequence. When he had tucked it away in his pocket once more, he looked at Harry expectantly.

Not having anything else to fill the silence with, Harry asked, "Do you know what my family motto is?"

"I do," the goblin answered matter-of-factly. "It appears in the heading of every account summary like the one you wrote your name on earlier."

"What is it?" Harry asked when the goblin didn't continue.

After a moment's hesitation, he replied, "Decus et Animus."

Harry was about to thank the goblin when the crack of a house elf apparating into the room startled him and caused the goblin to glare menacingly at the new arrival.

"Master Potter," the elf said with a low bow to Harry.

Still shocked, Harry surveyed the short green creature clad in a tan bed sheet. Finally recovering, Harry said, "Umm, call me Harry, please. Who are you?"

She straightened and replied in a squeaky but respectful tone, "I is called Cedar, Master Harry."

"What are you doing here, Cedar?" Harry asked.

"Cedar is presenting herself to Master and delivering Master's letter," she said, handing a powder blue envelope with a silver seal to Harry.

Harry took the letter but did not open it. Instead, he said, "I don't really know what to do for you Cedar."

"Cedar can go back to Master's house. Master Harry can summon Cedar if there is being work to do," she offered.

"Umm, how do I summon you?" Harry asked.

"Master is just snapping his fingers and saying Cedar's name."

"Ok. You can go back home then, I guess," Harry said.

"Master is coming soon?" she asked. "I is needing to do much work if Master is coming home soon."

Harry thought about it. It would be nice to have somewhere Dursley-free he could go to. He supposed he would have to make sure it was safe first. He would have to wait for an owl from the Order before he could request that someone check the house though. Still, it would be good to have the house ready.

"I don't know. Maybe in a few weeks," he told the elf.

She skipped happily from foot to foot. "Cedar is getting Master's house ready."

The goblin, having already had quite enough of the disgusting servitude of the house elf, cleared his throat threateningly. At that moment, another goblin appeared in the doorway holding a moneybag. Seeing the house elf, this goblin dropped the bag on the table with a small nod to the other goblin and then left quickly.

"Er, thank you, Cedar. Was that all you needed?" Harry asked the elf.

Cedar nodded happily.

"Then perhaps you should go back home now and I'll summon you if I need anything."

Cedar smiled broadly. "Oh, thank you, Master Harry, sir," she said before disappearing with a crack.

Harry was presented with the moneybag by the scowling goblin, then led back through the corridors to the main hall of Gringotts. From there, he walked quickly to the Leaky Cauldron and back into muggle London where the Dursleys were waiting to be paid.

The first thing Uncle Vernon said was, "Where's our money?"

The second thing he said, upon seeing the money handed to Petunia, who counted it carefully, was "Where did you get it, and what sort of business did you have around here?"

To this, Harry replied coolly, "My parents left me a bit of money. What I do with it is no concern of yours."

Vernon blustered for a moment but a sideways look from Petunia had him starting the car and resuming the drive to Little Whinging. Harry knew that look, having seen similar ones on Draco Malfoy's face right before the other teen attempted to have a bit of fun; Petunia was expecting future opportunity to make money at his expense.


	3. An Unexpected Perspective

That night, as Harry was changing into his pajamas and tucking his wand under his pillow, he found in his pants pocket the letter that Cedar had given him. When he opened the envelope and unfolded the letter, he saw only one paragraph but more slowly appeared as if someone were writing it as he read.

_Mr. Potter,_

_Now that you have become aware of the existence of Eyrie's Edge and can gain access to it via personal portkey, it is necessary that I explain a few things. Firstly, this letter is enchanted. You will likely find yourself unable to stop reading until the spell can complete its analysis of your intentions. You see, the inhabitants of Eyrie's Edge are quite fearful, on the scale of a retirement community for paranoid aurors, some of them. Our location is protected under far more complicated spells and wards than mere Fidelius and Unplottability. If the spell cast on this letter deems you dangerous, either because you intend us harm or because you are likely to betray our location to others who would do us harm, you will have your memory modified and your Secret removed. Now then, since you probably know scarcely enough about us to have intentions, good or bad, I will tell you a bit about us. _

_Eyrie's Edge is an all-magical town known only to its residents and those of our three sister towns: Brocksett, Neidrham, and Llewllan. Some of our people do not ever leave the wards that protect us, effectually guarding their existence as secret. Others participate fully in life outside the wards. Among our residents there are muggleborns and blood-purists, wizards and magical creatures, rich and poor, supporters of the Dark Lord and of the Ministry of Magic. Furthermore, Llewllan is home to the largest single community of vampires in Britain and is therefore the source of much of the nation's fashionable clothing. It is also home to the largest community of werewolves in Britain. These people produce the vast majority of the food sold in our towns' stores on their farms. _

_While it is true that our wards are so strong that witches and wizards could live their entire lives there without anyone outside knowing of their existence, you need not worry that we harbor fugitives, nor that we suffer anarchy. We have a police force, several healers, a small school, and even a recreational Quidditch league. In matters of government internal to our communities, the elected governing council and our Lord cooperate in much the same way as the Minister and the Wizengamot do._

_And now, a story about your relations may be in order. Emily and Cole Potter, your Great-aunt and -uncle, the heads of the Potter family until their death in 1984, were among the first to settle in Eyrie's Edge. They came because they agreed with the ideals of the founders and feared the war that was ravaging wizarding Britain. They also came because of a disagreement with Cole's younger brother Maxwell, your grandfather and a vocal supporter of the Ministry._

_Thank you, Mr. Potter. The spell has finished and has decided not to modify your memory. We ask that you use discretion in inviting gusts to your home. While your Secret is not our only line of defense against any visitors you might choose, it is a significant concern. We look forward to seeing you soon. When you do arrive, send your house elf for the village's Secret Keeper._

Harry did not appreciate enchanted mail after Voldemort's diary in his second year but at least nothing had come of this. Just to be sure, he took the letter down to the kitchen and burned it to ash, then flushed the ashes down the toilet. Maybe he was a bit paranoid but Mr. Weasley had definitely said not to trust anything that didn't seem to have a brain and the letter with its memory-scanning, obliviating charm certainly seemed dangerous by that definition.

//-//-//-//-//-//-//-

For next three days, nothing happened. Harry was left to his own devices and he chose to spend most of his time in his room brooding. He had been left his school things so every now and then, he wrote a few sentences of homework, but nothing too strenuous, of course, with it being only the first week of vacation. Harry was beginning to wonder why Hermione and Ron had not owled him when a sudden burst of flame signaled the arrival of a phoenix in his bedroom.

The flames cleared to reveal a ruddy brown phoenix who was most definitely not Fawkes. Wondering who he knew that could have gotten this unfamiliar bird recently, he stood and crossed the room to examine it. Where Fawkes was a brilliant red, this bird was a warm brown. Where Fawkes had brilliant gold feathers, this bird had deep gold ones. There was also a distinctly feminine quality to this creature whereas Fawkes was most definitely male. Harry tentatively reached out a hand and stroked her head as he took the letter she carried in her claws.

He took the letter and slit open the envelope. He removed the parchment from within and started to read.

_Mr. Potter,_

_The Dark Lord wished to extend his apologies to you for your treatment at his own hands and those of his soldiers. He now believes that your actions may be less choice and more reaction to manipulation. Thus he has suggested that I correspond with you in an effort to dispel any existing misunderstandings on his part or yours._

_You have been raised your whole life in the heart of Dumbledore's faction. All of the information upon which you base your beliefs is thus slanted. The stories you have been told are far from impartial. It is clear that you are being kept unaware of numerous important points in an effort to keep you from making your own choices and forming your own beliefs._

Harry scoffed at the idea that he had choices. The prophecy was still fresh in his mind and he knew that his only choice was whether to die or to kill Voldemort. Dumbledore's recent words about Voldemort came back to Harry: "I was sure," he had said, "knowing him as I have done, that he would not rest until he killed you."

Skipping ahead to the end of the letter, Harry frowned at the lack of signature. Obviously the person writing was a Death Eater, or perhaps a prankster. Maybe it was Fred and George, he thought, but they wouldn't do something so mundane. Perhaps it really was a Death Eater (but what kind of Death Eater would have a phoenix?) trying to fool him into trusting Voldemort to lure him to his death. Harry tossed the letter into his trunk and ignored the phoenix until it left the same way it had come.

Harry got a bit of a nasty surprise the next day. Dudley, having learned from his parents that Harry was not allowed to leave the house nor yard, had revived Harry Hunting. It was unclear whether the return of this game was entirely his idea, since his prey was suddenly without space to run away, or partially the idea of his parents, in the hope that Harry would offer to bribe them to stop the attacks. Either way, Harry still ended up with a few painful bruises on his shins, hurt pride, and a cousin who was a bit surer of himself knowing that Harry had not used magic in defense.

Harry spent most of his time in the relative safety of his room over the next two days which was a lucky thing, really, when Fawkes arrived beside him with a flash of fire. Harry took the letter from the bird's beak and lay down on his bed to read.

_Dear Harry,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. Fawkes will be carrying our letters this summer so that there is no chance of this information being intercepted but he is not a simple post owl so be sure to treat him kindly._

_You will be pleased to hear that Ms. Tonks has finished her inquiry at work and will receive only a month's docked pay for her involvement in recent events. Similarly, Ms. Granger has only three weeks of potions remaining before she is back to normal. Sirius' will reading is scheduled for four days from today. You are not permitted to attend as it is far too dangerous for you to leave your Aunt's home. I will forward anything you inherit._

_Lately, there have been few additional attacks. It seems that the current focus is still on recruitment in the Ministry, St. Mungo's, and the dark creature and magical communities at large. The captured Death Eaters are still in Azkaban, though Lucius Malfoy will almost certainly be out within the week. Also worth noting is the lack of dementor sightings. Our sources merely hint at such wildly improbable things as new dementors showing up in wizarding prisons in Asia, South America, and Africa but the actual location of those in Lord Voldemort's service is entirely unknown until they are ordered to attack._

_Sadly, Alastor Moody was killed yesterday outside his home. It appears that Death Eaters managed to find some sort of tiny gap in his wards and hit him with a massive blasting curse before he could defend himself. The scene was truly terrible. I fear similar attacks in the future. The war mustn't progress to the point where such things become commonplace once again._

_Remember, you are vital to our cause so be on your best behavior and stay out of trouble. Do not forget your duty; you will do your job in time and until then, we will do ours._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Harry was angry. Dumbledore's letter sounded like an attempt to make him feel guilty. Perhaps he was being irrational but he didn't react well to the letter. He forgot that he had intended to write a decent sized letter asking about Hermione and the Weasleys and the bank fraud and the house he had inherited. Instead, he barely resisted the urge to rant and wrote only:

_I'm still at the Dursleys. No attacks here. – HP_

The rest of the day was spent viciously tearing up weeds in Aunt Petunia's garden. It made him feel slightly better, at least until Dudley came shuffling up the sidewalk and spotted him. Harry thought he was safe in the front yard where anyone might be looking out their window, but he was wrong. Dudley got off several good punches, during which time Harry was wondering where his Order guards were, before Harry escaped into the house and braced the bedroom door shut.

That night, his recurring nightmares of his friends dying were worse than usual and he again spent a morning gardening to tire himself out. Unfortunately, his aching body did not appreciate his attempts. The afternoon was spent in bed napping. He was awakened once by Petunia to call him down for supper and a second time by the unfamiliar phoenix with a new letter that Harry chucked into his trunk with the first, not even opening it. While the bird waited nearly an hour for a reply, Harry worked on homework, not trusting a Death Eater bird enough to nap.

By the time Harry realized that the lack of owls from his friends probably meant that Dumbledore was diverting his mail, Harry had been beaten by Dudley twice more including once on the front lawn. Harry was beginning to think that there was no guard on him this year if they could let him get attacked by a muggle much larger than himself. He was pretty sure that everyone but Snape would intervene if they witnessed one of Dudley's painful attacks.

When the second update from Dumbledore came, Harry was in no better a mood than when he had finished reading the first. Apparently, while Remus had inherited 12 Grimmauld Place and the money had seemingly vanished, Harry had been left a book on how to become an animagus and a shoulder bag enchanted to be nearly bottomless with feather-light charms included. Both items had been sent with Fawkes along with the letter. The letter was more of the same really, reporting that Mr. Malfoy was out of Azkaban, Voldemort was recruiting followers in important places, and an attack had caused an explosion in Manchester that had killed twenty muggles and three wizards. This time, the letter stated slightly more directly that Harry would need to hurry up and face Voldemort while also offering Harry extra lessons in Occlumency and defense during the coming term. Still, Harry did not appreciate being pushed towards probable death. He sent a reply similar to his first and did not remember to ask about the house until Fawkes had already disappeared in a flash of flames.

The next day, the lack of contact with the outside world got the better of Harry and he dug through his trunk and retrieved the two letters from the Death Eater. If nothing else, they would be worth a good laugh, he figured.

_Mr. Potter,_

_The Dark Lord wished to extend his apologies to you for your treatment at his own hands and those of his soldiers. He now believes that your actions may be less choice and more reaction to manipulation. Thus he has suggested that I correspond with you in an effort to dispel any existing misunderstandings on his part or yours._

_You have been raised your whole life in the heart of Dumbledore's faction. All of the information upon which you base your beliefs is thus slanted. The stories you have been told are far from impartial. It is clear that you are being kept unaware of numerous important points in an effort to keep you from making your own choices and forming your own beliefs. It is a myth that the Dark Lord and his followers fight for pureblood supremacy and practice torture for sport. You may also be interested to know that the true nature of the relations between the Dark Lord and the giants and dementors rumored to be a part of his army. In fact, the former accepted an agreement to remain uninvolved in the war and outside of our country. The latter he 'donated' to foreign magical governments in order to get them out of reach of the British Ministry. Now our people will not be Kissed or driven crazy should they be captured. We have lost too many this way. You have seen with your own eyes how far gone Bellatrix Lestrange is after more than a decade with those creatures._

_I expect that you do not appreciate being reminded of Mrs. Lestrange right now and I have nothing to say in the way of comforting words or apologies. I will not feign sorrow over the death of your godfather. He was many things to many people and to us, he was an enemy soldier. That he was killed means that he shall never again hurt my loved ones and that he died honorably, fighting for whatever he believed was right is all the consolation we can offer you._

_Another dram of information you should take notice of is that even the simplest blood wards require a willing sacrifice from the beneficiary. That you allow yourself to remain in the care of your aunt irregardless of the treatment you receive there solely because you require the wards' protection is the basis of the magic. Perhaps when you were younger and not yet capable of understanding willing sacrifice it was necessary to place you in a home where you were sure to be mistreated but can Dumbledore still find no other place where you could receive sanctuary without being abused? Are you aware that your bond with the Dark Lord is strengthened whenever you are abused, traumatized, or even remembering past abuse? I have been told that you likely do not know the true story of what happened when you were a baby, when the Dark Lord attacked your parents. He was not attempting to kill you once you had been orphaned. He was in the midst of a bonding spell to alert him if you were ever abused when Dumbledore cast the killing curse on him. The resulting combination of the bond and the curse caused my Lord to be torn from his body and the scar of the killing curse to be imprinted on your forehead through the forming link. Even if you do not believe me, you have seen evidence of this, I am sure. How many times have you found yourself in the Dark Lord's mind since he returned and how many of those times have been soon after experiencing stress, trauma, or abuse? You have choices to make, Mr. Potter. Do you wish to continue sacrificing love and family for the protection of a few powerful wards?_

_PS. Are you aware that your wards block owls? I have had to employ my husband's phoenix to send you this. Her name is Alabaster (far too mundane a name for such a beautiful lady, but it is just like my husband to name such a creature after a bit of rock simply because she rather resembles the brown variety of said rock). Mostly, we call her Aly. She is very nice, especially to anyone who feeds her a bit of apple core. I expect you won't have any trouble getting along with her. If you wish, she will bring me your reply._

_Mr. Potter,_

_While I can't say that I was surprised when Aly returned without a reply, I do hope that you are giving my words some thought. As I mentioned in the previous letter, my Lord is a political leader who has had to resort to armed opposition. He may be a master of the Dark Arts but he is not evil. What is said about him outside of our communities tends to be greatly exaggerated. It is not the Slytherin way to correct such misunderstandings as they give power, however our efforts to convince potential supporters of the truths of our positions have to fight against this reputation and the facts of our often less-than-noble efforts to avenge the victims of the Shadow Massacre._

_You may not have heard of that holocaust, though if you had it would likely be called The Great Liberation. Your treatment at the hands of our people is largely a reflection of our hatred of your mother. The 'rescue mission' was her plan. It was Halloween night, 1978. The Order had followed a few of our people often enough to know the general location of the hidden town in which many sympathizers had taken up residence. Your mother came up with the idea of setting the valley ablaze to chase the villagers out of safety. The wards did not protect against fire and the light from the flames cast visible shadows from the buildings and people hidden behind the town's wards. While I doubt it was intended, the fire spread rapidly and quickly trapped the families, including more than forty children whom the Order had set out to 'liberate' from their 'misguided' parents. Some of our people who were able to flee the flames were trapped by the Order. There were survivors, most of which were pulled from the burning village by the Dark Lord and the group now called his Death Eaters who had managed to apparate in when news of the attack got out. The attack was a disaster for both sides; to us because our families were killed brutally and without cause, and to the Order because not one of the children was rescued from the influence of their parents. It was such a horrible, evil atrocity that many outside the Dark Lord's circle have made a concerted effort to forget it._

_I will be honest with you and say that there were atrocities committed by both sides, beginning even before the Massacre. In fact, the militant arm of our organization was founded in the sixties and it became quite active in the seventies. At the time, there was no one with sufficient power to oppose Dumbledore. The Headmaster was systematically excluding the poor and politically powerless purebloods from Hogwarts in an effort to increase the percent of British wizards in important positions who were sympathetic to muggles and muggleborns. Those who were excluded were left with only a tiny, inferior Welsh school run by an elderly hedgewitch as an option to secure a place in the magical community. In 1969, it was ruled that the only all-magic settlement allowed in Britain was Hogsmeade, a town firmly under the control of the Headmaster. The town that had sprung up around the welsh school, populated entirely by our people, devised a system of wards to hide behind, lest they be dispersed forcibly by the aurors and driven from the school. Over the next decade, the two sides traded escalating attacks, spurred onward by Dumbledore's effort to liberalize Ministry law to strip away the power of the pureblood Lords, increase the independence of Hogwarts, and lobby the International Federation of Wizards for amendment of the Statute of Secrecy. It was during that time that attacks on muggles were incorporated into the Dark Lord's tactics in the hope that it would become obvious to everyone that the muggles were angry and would be dangerous to us. In some ways, that tactic worked, and in others it did not. The officials in the muggle government declared in 1975 that they, fearing retaliatory violence, would not support a Ministry of Magic decision to inform the muggle population of magic. It was a short-lived victory for our side because the tide of the war was suddenly altered and Order propaganda began to popularize the image of our people that is commonly accepted today. It became a great struggle to remind the magical community of what we were actually fighting for. Our saving grace then was that Dumbledore and the Ministry were far too distracted to press for the sorts of changes that had started the conflict._

_So you may be asking yourself, where were these changes, this political battle, during the time when our Lord was indisposed. The politically powerfully among us were working hard to secure ties within the Ministry, especially with the Minister and other senior politicians and diplomats. However, there were strides made in Dumbledore's efforts as well. Prejudice against Slytherins is rampant; magic use rights in view of family of a witch and wizard have been broadened to include a much more vague definition of family; muggleborns and half-bloods are now allowed to tell more distant relations of magic and to escort them into wizarding communities; and the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry was expanded to include even children with fully trained magical parents. Of all these, it is the last that is of most concern to us. It is important for magical development, strength, and control that adolescent wizards and witches use their magic year round, though a bit of a light load during summer is a good idea. Before, muggleborns were noticeably less powerful and farther behind in their studies but rather than raising them up, purebloods and half-bloods were brought down to their level. While some purebloods spend the summer doing magic behind secrecy wards on the family home, most students accept this change and are weaker adults for it._

_I am sure this is a lot to think about. I will leave you will one final correction that I have been informed of as I write to you. Alastor Moody was not the victim of a Death Eater attack. Our investigation shows clearly that he attempted to curse a cat that startled him during his afternoon nap, missed, and was hit when the curse rebounded off a Partial Mirror Ward he had recently placed on the perimeter of his property. While he is one wizard that many of our people would like to have felled, his death was ultimately of his own paranoia._

_I hopefully await your reply. I have asked Aly to wait for a while in case you wish to take time to think before writing. Even if you only wish to tell me that I am the one who has been misled and you no longer wish to hear my propaganda, I would be pleased to hear from you._

The letters had given Harry a lot to consider. His first reaction was that the letters were an absurd pack of lies. To be sure, Harry consulted his History of Magic book. He was shocked to find that the change to the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry was as recent as the letter had mentioned. He was also quite upset to find a sentence referencing The Great Liberation as well. Nothing was said about the nature of the Liberation beyond that it proved to be one of many turning points in the war. Harry spent several minutes wondering if the letters from the Death Eater were true. He was attempting to figure out a way to find out when he was reminded of how completely cut off he was. He could not owl Hermione, or Ron, or Mr. or Mrs. Weasley, or Remus. He could not walk down the street and ask Mrs. Figg. Really, the only people he could talk to were Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley. Of those three, Petunia was the only one who had ever shown any indication at all that she knew about magic. If this matter, an allegation that his mother had done something quite terrible, had not been weighing on his mind quite heavily, Harry might have resigned himself to not getting an answer until term began but as it was, he felt he needed an answer soon as possible.

Thus, Harry stood and made his way downstairs, cautiously checking that his cousin was not in the house. He found Aunt Petunia in the sitting room alone.

"Aunt Petunia," he said politely.

She attempted to ignore him but he really wanted his answers.

"What is it, boy?" she snapped when he didn't go away.

"I was wondering if I could ask you a question about my mother."

Petunia glared and very nearly sent Harry to do some chore or another but she saw the opportunity to make a bit of money again.

"What is my answer worth to you?" she asked shrewdly.

Harry frowned. He weighed how much he wanted to know and how much money he had left. "Ten pounds?"

She snorted. "Twenty."

Harry's frowned deepened. "Fine, but only if I'm satisfied that you've told me everything you know about it."

"And if I don't know anything about whatever it is that you want to ask?" she said.

"Then you get ten," he answered reluctantly, suspecting that she wouldn't even listen to the question if she wasn't going to make money regardless of her answer.

After a moment's consideration, Petunia asked, "What's the question?"

"What do you know about The Great Liberation or the Shadow Massacre?"

Petunia rolled her eyes. "Lily was a great nuisance after that Liberation thing. She spent a full month hiding in her room at our parents' house. When she finally came out she told Mother that she had done something terrible. Said she had given some people the idea to set a freak town on fire and they had and some freaks had died. I think she lost her job at the Ministry over it. Then your good-for-nothing father showed up and took her away. Two months later at their wedding, she was fine again. Do I get my twenty pounds now?"

"You must know something else about it?" Harry persisted.

"Fine," she replied after a moment. "She said before she disappeared, that was after you were born, that the families of the people that had died were after her. That's why she went into hiding. But that really is everything I know about it."

Harry held her gaze for a minute, then, convinced that she really had told him what she knew, went upstairs to get the twenty pounds and paid her. If he had to keep bribing his relatives, he was going to need another trip to Gringotts before his birthday. He still had two months left before term started and staying with the Dursleys was growing more irritating by the day.


	4. Decus et Animus

Over the next couple of days, Dudley had a few more games of Harry Hunting and had hinted to Harry that it would be a lot of fun to get his gang involved too, though that thankfully hadn't happened yet. It was getting terribly difficult to resist taking his wand from its spot beneath his pillow and cursing Dudley until the whale stopped. Harry resolved to write Dumbledore about the problem the next time Fawkes came and see if he could end the game altogether.

When Fawkes arrived later for Harry's almost-weekly check-in, Harry quickly read the letter from Dumbledore before jotting off a note to send as a reply.

_Harry,_

_Several days ago, there was an attack in Manchester that killed thirteen muggles and three wizards. We didn't find out about it until after it had been handled by the Ministry. Their report indicates that Death Eaters managed to cause a large explosion for unknown reasons. While our information indicates that this was not a Death Eater attack, none of our people were able to investigate the scene so the true cause is unknown._

_In terms of good news, this morning we learned that Bellatrix Lestrange was killed by her own side. While I know you would probably have liked to be the one to do it, she is beyond justice now. Though her body has not been found, the records at the Ministry that monitor the monitoring spell placed on her in Azkaban do indicate that she is dead and buried somewhere in Wales. The Ministry has decided not to search for her body in order to verify her death. Since all reports indicate that this is the case, we can spare only two people for two days to search for her body and verify her death._

_None of our people have been injured since my last letter._

_-Albus Dumbledore_

Harry replied:

_I'm glad she's dead. When can I leave here? I don't know how to defend myself muggle-style against my cousin who beats me up and I can't run because I'm not suppose to leave the house. Can you please do something about it? – HP_

It irked Harry immensely that Dumbledore did not reply at all. The man was under the impression that Harry's only contact with the wizarding world was Fawkes' letters and yet he didn't bother to reply when Harry's brief missive required it. Harry's mood was not helped by Dudley's continued pursuit of him. Harry was lying in bed one morning with his bruised and swollen left ankle propped up on a pillow and with his door braced shut when Aly arrived with a new letter.

_Mr. Potter,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. I wish you would reply. You are welcome to ask questions about the war, issues discussed in these letters, anything really, even your studies. There will be some things I cannot answer but you won't get any information at all if you do not ask. Do you have any questions about your homework?_

_Knowing the information that you have probably received regarding the death of Bellatrix Lestrange, I thought it important to write you with the real story. We are not monsters. Bella's death was tragic. When she was rescued from Azkaban, her mind had already been broken. We tried everything from muggle anti-depressants to chocolate-based potions but nothing worked. It was decided last week that she would be retired but in her state, she would not sit idly by while her Dark Mark hinted that others were being called. When our Lord attempted to remove it, she lost control and began attacking everyone within reach. Paranoid and violent, she drew her wand and was hit by thirteen stunners simultaneously resulting in instant death. We have buried her body in an old and sacred graveyard protected by ancient magic. No one who thinks ill of her will find her now, even if they are standing on her grave and following a tracking spell._

_I have been asked to request that you write to Dumbledore or another adult who has the power to remove you from your current situation. The Dark Lord is aware that you are suffering in your current placement. Are there truly no other safe houses you could be moved to? Could you not have chosen a new sacrifice to base your protections on, rather than submitting to abusive guardians?_

The last paragraph echoed Harry's own grievances so well that he was worried that the letter-writer might be spying on him or plotting against him. He scratched a quick note to the anonymous Death Eater.

_Why do you care that I am being abused? Why are you so interested in my moving? Why are you even bothering to write to me, someone you don't know (do you?) and who will fight Voldemort again in the future? - Harry Potter_

Harry offered the letter to Aly. The brown phoenix took the note in her beak and waited until Harry had withdrawn his hand before she disappeared in a burst of flames. Harry didn't expect a reply right away. In fact, he didn't really expect a reply for another few days to a week, when a new letter would have come as scheduled. If Dumbledore couldn't be bothered to reply to allegations of abuse, a Death Eater wouldn't hurry to answer a few questions from the teenage hero of the Light.

But an hour later, when Harry had just rolled up his completed Charms homework, another flash of fire signaled Aly's return.

_Mr. Potter,_

_I was so pleased when Aly returned with a note! To answer your questions: _

_1) Why do I care that you are being abused? - Who wouldn't care? What I mean to say is that no decent parent abides by abuse of a child. I can respect that you and Dumbledore may have decided that this particular sacrifice is the best option but that does not soothe my worries for you every time the Dark Lord summons a healer for the headaches induced by your bond flaring up. _

_2) Why do I suggest that you move? - My answer to this is much the same as my answer to the first question. Is this particular sacrifice really worth it? I can understand that you would see my concern as manipulation given its source but surely someone you trust has questioned your situation before. No child should grow up feeling unloved. You are not only being left to the mercy of your abusive relatives but you are also cut off from the people who love you and support you (unless, of course, you have another phoenix delivering your letters to and from your friends – or is that another sacrifice you have made to strengthen the wards?)._

_3) Why do I write to you? - I wrote to you initially because I was asked to by my Lord and encouraged to by my husband. I give you so much information, and an opportunity to correspond, because I have heard a bit about you and how you have grown up and I find myself able to help you. You, like everyone else, deserve to have enough impartial information to make your own decisions. Naturally, I would hope that you decide not to fight my Lord but regardless of your choice, you should know enough about the circumstances to make your own decision without being set up for certain roles or pushed into situations without an understanding of the hows and whys that created them. _

_Have you ever been told why the Dark Lord dislikes being called 'Lord Voldemort'? When he invented that name for himself, he was, by his own admission, an angry, impulsive, and irrational teenager. He has grown up significantly since then and would like very much to move past that period in his life. His Death Eaters (that name being another with an odd and unpleasant story behind it) call him the Dark Lord. Sympathizers call him that or Mr. Riddle. Most are aware of his parentage, though many blood purists are a bit in denial over it and prefer to protect their interests by cooperating and ignoring his family history._

_While we are on the topic of blood purism, it is common enough to wrongly classify all blood purists together. In reality, there is a broad range of different beliefs that fall under the category. There are those who believe that all the best witches and wizards come from seven or more generations of magical people. There are also those who believe that three generations of magical blood is sufficient. Still there are others who feel that all witches and wizards are acceptable, even muggleborns, if they are aware of and respectful of magical culture. Also, some would say that any witch or wizard is worthy of association unless they identify strongly with muggles, by marrying one or living as one, for example. While I doubt that it matters to you, I will say that I personally believe that anyone who practices magical culture is acceptable so long as they do not marry a muggle._

_While I considered not answering your fourth question, whether you and I have met, I have decided to tell you. I don't expect it to be of much help in identifying who I am. We do not know each other - however, you are an acquaintance of my husband._

Harry had some thinking to do about this letter as well. He was curious about the story alluded to about the name 'Death Eater' and he figured that as long as Aly was waiting for a reply, he might as well ask.

_Thank you for replying. What did you mean about the story of the name "Death Eater"? – Harry Potter_

Once Aly disappeared, Harry was left alone with his muggle relations for another two days. He received his daily beating and did more homework. By now, Harry was quite hungry and without food from Hermione and the Weasleys, he wasn't sure how he was going to make it to term without losing unhealthy amounts of weight. His next visit was from Fawkes and he surprised himself with his disappointment that it wasn't Aly. Harry took the letter from the red phoenix and read it.

_Harry,_

_There have been no new attacks since my last letter. We have had minor success in recruitment but it is better that you not know everyone. We are somewhat worried about what our spy has brought back regarding you; he has very little information on what Voldemort plans to do to you next. It is more important than ever that you remain within the wards. I will do whatever I can to strengthen those protections. I have also sent emergency portkeys to your friends who may also be targets because of the incident in the Department of Mysteries. _

_Your friends, Ms. Lovegood and Ms. Weasley remain in good health, Mr. Longbottom has purchased his new wand, Ms. Granger is off her potions and seems to be recovered, and Mr. Weasley is finally managing some success in dealing with his injuries. The brain which attacked him left magical scarring that has made it necessary for him to study Occulmency. In just three short weeks, he has made remarkable strides. You may wish to consider discussing technique with him once term begins again._

_-Albus Dumbledore_

As Harry read the letter, he felt increasingly guilty. He had caused many problems for his friends. Harry had to clamp down on his feelings of remorse and jealousy at news of Ron's success. 'At least I'm getting some news about my friends,' he thought instead. His reply, which was already written, had more urgent matters to deal with than his emotional response to a letter.

_Professor Dumbledore,_

_I really need you to find me someplace safe besides here. I can't put up with daily beatings and a starvation diet for another two months. If you don't reply, I'm going to have to start defending myself by fighting back or by running away._

_- Harry Potter_

He passed it to Fawkes as soon as he had finished reading Dumbledore's letter and watched as the bird disappeared.

Fawkes returned with another note from Dumbledore within ten minutes.

_Harry, you may NOT fight back and don't you dare leave the wards. You are safe where you are. I am sure you are just over-reacting. Your family loves you and takes good care of you. –AD_

This time, Fawkes did not wait long enough for Harry to read the note, much less to write a reply and send it. Harry was fuming mad and he took it out on the weeds in his Aunt's gardens again. It wasn't very satisfying when he really just wanted to scream at Dumbledore for being so inconsiderate and wrong. The Death Eater was right about him having to sacrifice family and love... not that agreeing with her on that point meant that he agreed with other things... but couldn't Dumbledore at least admit that abuse wasn't normal?

The next day, Dudley did not wait for Harry to leave his bedroom before getting started on the daily beating. It was just before noon when Dudley pushed open Harry's door and made short work of pounding Harry. The bigger boy stopped only when a dull crack proved that Harry's right leg had broken.

Even then, he sniggered and said, "This is really great fun, Potter. I invited my boys over to play too. They should be here any minute."

Sure enough, the doorbell rang just then and Petunia called, "Duddums! Piers, Malcolm, and Gordon are here."

Dudley smirked dangerously. "Don't worry," he told Harry. "I'll be right back and me and my friends will continue our game." Then Dudley left the room and went to meet his gang at the door.

Harry groaned through the pain and pushed himself up on badly bruised elbows. If Dumbledore had taken the danger seriously, Harry wouldn't be in this mess right now.

Harry heard voices downstairs and knew that Dudley would be back in a moment. He snapped his fingers and said, "Cedar."

With a crack, his house elf appeared.

"Cedar, can you bring a healer here?"

"No, sir. Master is the only wizard that is getting through the wards."

Harry groaned in pain and frustration.

"Master can come home with Cedar and Cedar can bring Master a healer there."

Harry thought he might just be desperate enough to portkey into an unfamiliar home in an unfamiliar town where he could possibly be in a lot of danger. He really needed a healing. His right leg was excruciatingly painful and certainly broken, perhaps in more than one place and if it wasn't healed right, he would not be able to walk normally.

"This is really important, Cedar. OK?"

"Yes, Master."

"Cedar, I'm your only master, right?"

She nodded. "Oh yes, Master Harry, sir."

"So you couldn't lie to me, right?"

"No, Master Harry, sir."

"Cedar, are there any people watching the house in Eyrie's Edge?"

"No, Master."

"So it would be safe for me to go there?"

"Yes, sir."

"OK. I need you to take all of those books, the clothing, the parchment, and the quills plus anything under the loose floorboard under the bed and pack them into that trunk. Then, close the trunk and take it and the owl cage back to the house. I'll portkey there in a moment. Oh, and can you pass me my wand?"

As Cedar did as she was asked, Harry watched the doorway warily. Cedar wasn't yet gone when he heard footsteps on the stairs. Luckily, it was only Petunia.

"What is that _thing_ doing here?" she snapped.

Harry did some fast thinking, seeking the shortest possible explanation for what he was about to do. "Um, I'm going to spend a while at a friend's house and she's taking care of my things. I may or may not be back before term starts."

Petunia's eyes narrowed. "It will cost you if you expect me to believe that. I've been told that you are not to leave the house the entire summer."

Harry groaned. "Alright. Eighty pounds and no more. It's all I have," he told her, having Cedar hand over the bills from the moneybag.

Petunia scowled. "Since it's all you've got but if you plan to come back this summer, you had better bring another 200 pounds for all I put up with."

Harry frowned at his aunt's nerve. She hadn't even asked why he was so mangled, though she probably knew why already, and she was making him pay to come home. He wondered if that had any effect on the wards, though if what Aly's owner had said was true, it would probably make them stronger.

When Harry didn't protest, Petunia continued down the hall, away from Dudley and his gang who were climbing the stairs.

Harry took one more look around the room, directed Cedar to pack a few forgotten things, and then sent her on her way. He was only a breath behind her, taping his ring with his wand and saying the family motto, which he had learned not long ago at Gringotts, "Decus et Animus."

He felt the jerk behind his navel and hoped that the landing wouldn't be too painful.

//-//-//-//-//-//-//-//-

Harry blacked out momentarily when the portkey deposited him roughly on the hardwood floor of a small entrance hall, jostling his leg horribly. He was roused by a rough shake from Cedar.

"Master Harry, sir. Healer is at the front gate, sir. Master has to tell her where Master's house is."

Harry cringed. Damn inconvenient Secret Keeper business. "Get me a scrap of parchment and an inked quill, Cedar."

When she obeyed, Harry quickly wrote "Potter Cottage is located at the end of the shortest lane in Eyrie's Edge" on the page and handed it to Cedar.

"Show her this and make sure she understands, then burn the paper and bring her inside."

"Yes, Master," she said with a nervous bow, then ran out the open front door.

A minute later, a middle-aged woman in emerald robes was kneeling at his side.

"Mr. Potter, where are you hurt?"

"My right leg is broken. I don't know what else. My cousin beat me up because I couldn't leave the house to get away from him."

The woman frowned and drew her wand.

"Let's get you into bed and then I'll heal the breaks and see what other damage you have."

Harry nodded as she cast mobilicorpus and levitated him. Cedar then led her, and Harry by extension, through an open doorway and into a pleasant sitting room with a fireplace full of blue flames. On their immediate right was a flight of stairs which they climbed slowly so as not to jostle or bump the floating Harry. At the top of the stairs, Cedar led them down a corridor on the left and through the first door.

Harry was set down gently on the bed in what was probably the master suite. The room was quite large and decorated in warm browns and deep greens. It was far nicer than anything the Dursleys had.

"Mr. Potter, my name is Electra and I've been a certified Healer for seventeen years. Now, I haven't seen your medical history so I need you to try to remember if you've ever had a bad reaction to any healings."

Harry shook his head. If he had ever had a problem with healings, he was not aware of it.

"Are you allergic to any potions ingredients?"

"Nope," he said, wincing and trying to shift to a more comfortable position.

With a small nod, Electra took two vials from her robes and passed them to Harry to drink.

"That one's a pain-reliever and the other is a mild truth serum. Drink the pain-reliever now and when I'm finished, I'll need to talk with you while you're under the truth serum so that I can decide whether to tell you the Secret of the town or not."

As Harry drank the pain-reliever and wondered if he should not have come, she drew her wand and ran a series of diagnostic spells Harry was quite familiar with after all his visits to Madam Pomfrey.

Electra frowned and asked hesitantly, "Would you like to tell me how these injuries occurred? And the malnutrition?"

Harry sighed. "Sure, why not. My muggle cousin beat me up nearly every day of the summer. I left before he got his gang involved but not before he broke my leg. My aunt and uncle always nearly starve me over the summer. Usually my friends send me food so that I can at least make it back to school but I wasn't allowed any owl post this summer so I've been surviving on portions that wouldn't keep a kneazle alive."

Electra growled. "Have you reported your treatment to other adults?"

Harry glared at the memory of the Headmaster's note. "Yeah, and they didn't do anything about it. In fact, they send me back every summer."

Electra was not pleased with this news. "How were you injuries treated in the past? Who was your healer?"

"Before Hogwarts, my accidental magic healed the worst of it. After that, Madam Pomfrey patched me up. This is the first time that I've needed a healer during the summer though. I was forbidden to leave the house or defend myself against my cousin and his gang – that's why I came here even though it could have been a trap."

Electra began the work of healing Harry's leg while she attempted to find out the extent of his mistreatment. When she had finished both tasks, she sent Cedar for a tray of light food and had Harry take the truth serum.

Then, Electra took a small, unique Foe Glass from a pocket in her robes and held it out to Harry. "Who do you see in there?"

Harry waited while the glass registered his presence and searched for those who wished him ill will. "My cousin, my uncle, and I think that's Voldemort in the corner but he's a bit blurry and so are the black blobs... oh, but that one with the blond hair is Lucius Malfoy," he said, his voice monotone due to the truth serum.

Electra nodded and reached out to tap the glass with her wand so that it would show those who Harry believed to be enemies. "And the people you believe to be enemies - who do you see now?"

"Draco Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, Voldemort, Professor Snape, a bunch of masked Death Eaters."

Electra tapped the mirror again to make it reveal people Harry considered to be his closest allies. "And your allies -who's there now?"

For a moment, Harry fought the serum, afraid that he was giving away the identity of Order members but when he saw the faces appear, he knew that none of them would come as a surprise to anyone who knew about him. "Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, all of the Weasleys except Percy, Hermione Granger, Fawkes the phoenix, and Dobby the house elf."

"Have you heard the story of the Shadow Massacre?"

"Yes," Harry replied, still under the truth serum.

"Would you reveal the location of the village if you found that it was home to blood-purists and Dark Lord sympathizers?"

It took Harry a moment to answer, even under truth serum, because he was a bit conflicted on that answer. If the village was harboring wanted Death Eaters, he would want to turn them in to the Ministry or the Order but what if it meant a repeat of the Massacre? He would try to lure them away from innocents perhaps but he would not bring a battle to a community with young children and other innocent people. He made his decision. "No."

Electra nodded, satisfied that the village would be safe if Harry knew about it. He wouldn't be able to tell anyone where it was anyways because of the Fidelia charms and hopefully he would never have cause to betray the location in more creative and difficult ways. She administered the antidote to the truth serum and made sure that Harry ate the food Cedar had retrieved.

"Mr. Potter, the village of Eyrie's Edge is located in the valley of the same name. It is unplottable but can be found by walking out your front door. If you have already looked outside, you will notice numerous changes the next time you do so."

Harry only nodded as he eagerly ate his first good meal since the end of term.

Harry was halfway through the delicious food when he started to drift off to sleep. Electra saw this and summoned the elf to clean up. She then ordered the elf to make sure that Harry knew that he was to stay in bed until she visited again. She also gave strict instructions as to what Harry should be fed and when. Once she was convinced that the elf knew what she was supposed to do, Electra left the sleeping Harry and returned to her own home. She had decided, upon hearing the boy's story, that she would not charge him her usual fee. She was wealthy already and did not need his money. She wasn't thinking of him as a patient and it was quite clear that he needed a mother-figure more anyways given the condition of that boy's body and the notion that his allies, so many of them, had returned him to an abusive situation repeatedly. If she ever heard that someone, even Albus Dumbledore, wanted to send that boy back, they would have to go through an angry Electra Black to do it.

Harry slept through until the nest morning courtesy of the healing, the unusually large meal, and the most comfortable bed he had ever slept in. He woke up feeling wonderful, if a bit sore. He got out of bed and began looking for the toilet. The first door he tried proved to be the one into the hall. The second door, however, opened on to nice bathroom. Harry wanted to climb into the bathtub and have his first wash in a week but he needed to get clean clothes first. When he went back to the bedroom, he found Cedar twisting her ears painfully.

"Oh, Master Harry, you is not supposed to be out of bed, sir."

"Don't hurt yourself, Cedar," Harry ordered. When the elf stopped twisting her ears, Harry continued. "I'm getting right back into bed," he said with a sigh. Were all healers so insistent on bed rest? Harry shuddered upon wondering what the Hogwarts hospital wing would be like if Madam Pomfrey had house elves to monitor her patients.

Harry climbed into bed and settled himself with his back against the headboard and began eating the late breakfast Cedar had brought him.

Electra arrived twenty minutes later. After inspecting Harry's leg and a few of the more serious bruises, she told him that he could bathe in the evening if he stayed in bed all day. Ignoring his groan of protest at being confined to his bed, Electra sent Cedar to bring Harry's school trunk so that he could work on homework during the day.

When Cedar had returned and set the trunk open at the foot of the bed, Harry nearly complained but sighed instead and decided he might as well finish that transfiguration essay he had left tucked in his text half-written.

"Can you hand me the transfiguration book?" Harry asked Cedar.

Electra stopped the elf and gave Harry an incredulous look and asked, "Are you a wizard or not?"

He was so obviously confused that she snapped, "Summon it."

"But I can't do magic during holidays. I've already had a warning and a disciplinary hearing. I'd get expelled for sure."

She frowned and replied, "The wards around this town are so good that the Ministry will never know; I assure you. You may use magic... just don't do anything dangerous or strenuous and no self-transfiguration of course. Oh, and don't try any spells you haven't done before." She left the room with a roll of her eyes.

And so, Harry spent his first Dursley-free day in bed doing homework. He was all too happy when evening came and Cedar allowed him to leave his bed. He fully intended to spend time after his bath exploring the house but when that time came and he nearly fell asleep while walking back across the room to get clean pajamas from his trunk, he decided it would have to wait for morning.

//-//-//-//-//-//-//-

A flash of flames awakened Harry as a phoenix appeared in his room. For a moment, he was afraid that Dumbledore had noticed his absence and sent Fawkes to find him but the flames cleared and brown feathers eased Harry's worries. Aly settled herself in Harry's pillow and offered him her letter.

Taking it and setting it on his nightstand next to his glasses, Harry told the bird, "No reply this time, Aly. That's what you get for finding me before breakfast."

Aly crooned softly but Harry merely rolled over and went back to sleep.


	5. Questions Asked and Answered

When Harry woke up again more than an hour later, Aly was gone. Harry got up and considered summoning Cedar but thought that he could easily make his own breakfast as soon as he found the kitchen. So, once he had dressed and tucked the unopened letter into his pocket to read later, he began walking through the halls and opening doors. The top floor had several guest bedrooms and a bathroom in addition to the master suite. Nothing seemed particularly interesting in any of the rooms so Harry went downstairs to the first floor and wandered. He found no kitchen but did find a library that would certainly merit further investigation when he wasn't so hungry. Finding a staircase down to the basement, he descended. There was a cheerful, large dining room and he assumed rightly that the kitchen would be nearby. He opened one of two doors off the dining room and stepped into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Master Harry," Cedar said. "Is Master wanting food from Cedar?"

"Can I make myself something, please?" Harry asked. Cedar looked quite putout by the question so Harry quickly added, "I'm not upset with you or anything. I'm just used to cooking for myself during the summer."

Cedar looked at her master with shocked eyes. "Master is not cooking for himself!" she exclaimed. "Cedar is a good elf. Cedar will cook."

Harry considered pushing the issue but he barely knew the elf and he couldn't tell how she would react if he pressed to be allowed to take over some of the work house elves were traditionally responsible for. Harry really didn't need a depressed house elf like Winky on his hands so he sighed and turned around to return upstairs.

Harry was debating what to do while he waited for Cedar to bring him something to eat when he took a peek out the front window and was greeted with a beautiful view of a valley framed on all sides by low hills, crisscrossed with dirt roads, and peppered with small houses. He went to his front door and stuck his head outside to get a better look. He suddenly felt like flying but doubted that riding his Firebolt over the village, even if it was an all-magical town, would be appreciated. Instead, he made sure the door was unlocked and then stepped out onto the covered porch. There were two rocking chairs and a bench swing to sit on and Harry chose one of the rocking chairs since it was beside a small table that he could eat off of comfortably.

Cedar chose that moment to pop up next to him with a tray of sandwiches, soup, and pumpkin juice which Harry accepted gratefully. Once Cedar had disappeared with another pop, Harry sat eating and enjoying the view for a while.

Halfway through the plate of sandwiches, Harry remembered the letter in his pocket and took it out, unfolding the sheet of parchment to reveal an envelope, and read.

_Mr. Potter, _

_I apologize for the delay in replying. I had to make sure I was allowed to tell you that story. As I suspected, my husband believes that it would be entirely improper to include the incantation for the dark spell that features prominently in the story but I think you will be able to follow without that detail. _

_After the Massacre, our people were violently angry. Anyone remotely connected with attacking the village was subject to retaliation. Those of our people who had lost family members lost much of their self-restraint. The Dark Lord, who had himself lost his wife and both his daughters, was not satisfied with merely conventional torture methods for those who had actively participated in the attack. For quite awhile, when our people went into battle, they cast an old dark spell on the targets so that those people would see how our families had died; it caused them to experience all the fear and pain and agony until the spell overwhelmed them and they died. The spell was in Welsh and it translated to something like "be consumed by our deaths". Someone at the Daily Prophet mistranslated it, either by accident or intentionally, as "One who eats death". From that point on, my Lord's soldiers became known popularly as Death Eaters. _

_On another matter entirely, the letter that I included with this one was sent to you at your usual summer home more than a week ago but was diverted by the wards. It came into Dumbledore's possession and has since fallen into our hands. While no one but you can open it, it is clearly a letter of investigation from Gringotts. Dumbledore was planning to have you open it in front of him but now he has 'misplaced' it and we have arranged for you to receive it in advance. I suggest that, should he question you, you claim that an unfamiliar house elf visited you to deliver it since it had your name on it. _

Harry turned his attention to the letter. When he touched it, he felt a pain like a needle prick and saw a drop of blood stain the envelope. Suddenly, it fell open and Harry was able to take the letter from within. It was a summary of the losses he had taken to his account. The goblins reported that they could not identify who the thief had been but stated clearly that all the transactions had been authorized with his vault keys and proof of magical guardianship. The goblins explained briefly that since Harry was a known wizard with only muggle guardians, he had been assigned a magical guardian who was responsible for introducing him to the magical world and handling any business or legal proceedings until he was knowledgeable enough to do so on his own. While the identity of that person remained unknown to the bank investigators thanks to anti-goblin sentiments in the Ministry, the goblins stated that the proof the person had presented each time a withdrawal was made had been valid and Harry would do well to file for emancipation from his magical guardian immediately. They had enclosed the necessary forms and all Harry had to do was fill them out and send them to the Ministry.

Having never heard of a magical guardian before, Harry was inclined to agree with the goblins' recommendation. He summoned Cedar and requested quill and ink. After filling out and signing the brief forms and writing a short paragraph under "Reasons for Emancipation" that mentioned the fraud and said he had never even known that he had a magical guardian and disliked the idea of someone he didn't know having authority over him and his assets, Harry asked Cedar to deliver the forms to the Ministry. She disappeared with a pop and was back half-an-hour later with a letter that notified Harry that his Petition for Emancipation had been granted but that, given the circumstances and the allegations of fraud, the guardian would not be notified in an effort to catch him or her in a criminal act.

Harry looked up when he heard laughter on the lane. He saw Electra walking his way, two children running ahead of her. When they reached Harry's front gate, she called for them to stop, knowing that they couldn't see into the protections around Harry's home. She left them to play, warned them that just because they couldn't see her didn't mean that she couldn't see them, and opened Harry's front gate.

"Hello, Harry," she said when she reached the porch steps.

"Hi," Harry replied with a small smile.

"Let me have one last look at you so I can make sure that your more serious injuries have healed," she ordered as she drew her wand. "I can't believe how aware you were when you arrived, what with the broken leg, the three broken ribs, and the minor concussion."

Harry shrugged, knowing that Madam Pomfrey had treated him for worse after Death Eater attacks and magical accidents. He submitted to her healing spells for a minute or two before she nodded, satisfied.

"My children, Leo and Cassie, and I are walking to the town square to meet my husband. He's due back from Brocksett in fifteen minutes. Would you like to come along?"

"Sure," Harry replied. He tucked his letter into a pocket, checked that he had his wand, and followed her down the steps and along the front walk.

When they stepped through the gate and out of the yard, the children noticed their presence.

"Children," Electra said, "this is Harry. Harry, Leo and Cassiopeia."

"Hello," the children chorused.

"Hi," Harry replied.

"Let's be on our way then," Electra said.

As they began their walk down the lane, past two other, slightly smaller houses, Electra talked to Harry while the children played and skipped ahead a bit.

"The house on the right," Electra explained, "is home to Rudella Moore. She's a nice-enough old widow, if a bit liberal for my tastes. She talks about Quidditch too much but a young person like you would probably enjoy that.

"The house on the left, is empty but for a Prewett house elf. If town gossip is to be believed, Gideon bought it recently with an eye to renting to some relation of his that just defected."

"Prewett?" Harry asked. The name sounded vaguely familiar but he couldn't place it.

"Yes," Electra said, not meeting Harry's eyes. "You may know Molly, Gideon's sister."

Harry suddenly remembered the story Moody had told of the deaths of Fabian and Gideon Prewett. "Molly Weasley?"

"That's right."

"But Mrs. Weasley's brothers are dead. The Death Eaters killed them," Harry insisted.

Electra shook her head. "Fabian was killed by our people. Gideon had already defected and was trying to convince his twin to do so as well. The conversation went very badly and Gideon's comrades attacked Fabian. The battle was quite messy and Gideon ended up right in the middle of it all. He survived but lost his hand. Fabian didn't make it.

"After that, Gideon was distraught. He disappeared for a while then turned up again in a village near the Welsh School of Magic. He was solitary right up until the Shadow Massacre. He saved seventeen people that night and afterwards he took in and raised three orphans. He lives in Llewllan now with his wife and their son."

Harry had stopped walking. His mind was racing. If there were people who were supposed to be dead here, maybe...

"Harry," Electra called. When he didn't respond, she took him by the arm and got him walking again.

"Harry, what's wrong?"

"Are there any other dead people... I mean people who pretend... I mean..." he began hopefully.

"I know what you mean, Harry. And there aren't many... three or four. The only other one you might know is my husband..."

Harry waited for her to continue but as they turned onto Main Street, she changed the subject.

"That's the school," she said, pointing to a two-story building that was more than five times the size of the surrounding houses. "All our children who don't attend Hogwarts go to school there from age 10 to 17. Even those who go to Hogwarts take classes for the year before Hogwarts and each August during summer holidays."

With a smile, she added, "I expect you would all prefer not to have holidays cut short, but it is important that everyone have classes together. It keeps all of us at the same level and prevents rivalries."

Before Harry could ask her what her husband's name was, Electra pointed to a small shop.

"That is the town store. It is run by a family of free house elves as it is mostly our house elves that do business with them to buy food and linens and dishes and the like, but anyone can walk in while they're open and browse, buy, or place an order. There are similar shops in each village and there's also a summer market when other magical shops come here for a day at the end of July."

Leo and Cassie turned another corner and disappeared before Electra turned to Harry and said, "In the center of this square, there are three permanent portkeys to the other villages." When the square, the portkeys (three meter tall poles sticking up out of the ground), and the children appeared, she continued. "The red one goes to Llewllan, the green goes to Neidrham, and the yellow goes to Brocksett. To work them, touch the pole for the town you want to go to and snap your fingers.

"It used to be that you had to say a password to activate the portkey but my husband couldn't work them... he's mute. He sacrificed his voice, and thus a large portion of his ability to do magic, to strengthen the town wards."

"Ma'am," Harry said, "who is your husband?"

"Regulus Black," she replied as that very man popped into the square beside the yellow pole.

There was no mistaking this man for Sirius. Even knowing that they were brothers, it was difficult to see post-Azkaban Sirius in Regulus but there was just enough there that it was painful. It was like the wrong Black was back from the dead. It made Harry sad and suspicious and, well, he didn't really know what else. Regulus Black was a Death Eater, a blood-purist, a Slytherin. Sirius hadn't said the most flattering things about his brother. Then there was the fact that the man should be dead. Hadn't he betrayed Voldemort and been killed for it? That was what the Order had said.

Harry found his voice as the man who looked just enough like Sirius came to stand before them. Electra was talking but Harry wasn't listening and he certainly couldn't understand what Regulus was doing with his hands.

"No, no, no," Harry heard himself muttering. This wasn't right. He was in a Death Eater town with a Death Eater who should be dead... dead like Sirius.

Harry took a step backwards and was only a breath away from fleeing when Electra took him firmly by the shoulders and looked straight into his lost eyes. "Harry," she said. "Harry, listen to me. Regulus isn't here to hurt you and neither am I. I will not have you living in this town and fearing your neighbors, nor am I comfortable with allowing you to leave without knowing that you will come and find me if you need help. I do not take abuse lightly and it makes me very angry that no one helped you before you got to the point where you required immediate medical attention.

"I understand that you're probably very confused but if you don't tell me what's bothering you, I can't help you. Now, we're all going to walk back and you are going to ask questions until you are comfortable around us," she insisted.

They had turned off Main Street, the children lagging several paces behind and chattering happily, before Regulus put a hand on the still silent Harry's shoulder and gestured with his other hand.

"Harry, Regulus wants you to know that we are serious about letting you ask questions. Talk to us," Electra said.

Harry didn't believe them. He never asked questions. He always had to find things out for himself. He heard Regulus sigh and saw the man gesture again.

Electra spoke. "Alright. We'll supply some answers then.

"Regulus is a retired Death Eater. When this town was founded and the wards set up, he agreed to sacrifice his voice to strengthen them. In doing so, he gave up the ability to do serious magic, anything that is too strong to be cast voicelessly. He went to say goodbye to his mother. At that time, she promised to arrange it so that anyone who cared to check would believe Regulus had died. He tried to say goodbye to his brother as well but Sirius wasn't interested. So Regulus disappeared and made his life within these towns."

In a very small voice, Harry asked, "Are you still loyal to Voldemort?"

Regulus nodded.

They lapsed into silence for a few minutes more.

"Are you blood purists?" Harry asked Regulus and Electra timidly.

Regulus shrugged and looked to his wife to explain.

"We don't wish to associate with mu...muggleborns, we avoid muggles whenever possible, and we disprove of witches and wizards marrying muggles, though if the children prove themselves worthwhile, we don't object to their being half-blooded."

Harry's gaze returned to the ground and he kept his mouth shut. After a moment, Regulus tapped his shoulder and Harry looked up again.

Regulus was gesturing again and Electra nodded and translated the signs for Harry.

"We want to know what you think about blood purism," she said gently.

Harry said nothing for a moment, unsure how to say what he thought without being offensive. "One of my best friends is muggleborn and she's a really good witch and really smart so I don't think blood really matters. I don't mind muggles all that much either, but I don't spend much time around them between Hogwarts and not being allowed out during the summer." He didn't add that when he did go out the muggles avoided him because they believed it when the Dursleys said that he went to St. Brutus' Center for Incurably Criminal Boys.

Regulus signed again and Electra translated, "How much do you know about magical culture? It's well known that you were kept from the magical world as a young child. Has anyone bothered to teach you all the things you missed out on... rules, customs, holidays...?"

Harry shook his head. "It's not that different from muggle culture though, right? I mean, the Weasleys never mentioned anything and Ron's pretty quick to speak up about how strange muggles are if he sees something new to him."

Regulus shook his head in dismay and Electra cleared her throat, both biting back comments about the Weasleys. Finally, Electra looked pointedly at Regulus and he sighed and signed a reply which she translated for Harry.

"Not all witches and wizards practice our traditions. Even those of us who do know them don't follow all of the practices and principles. I believe that your friend would not have had cause to comment on many of the differences. Hogwarts has not marked the passing of the Celtic holidays since two years after Dumbledore became Headmaster and somehow I doubt that the Weasleys carry out those particular traditions."

"There's nothing wrong with the Weasleys," Harry protested.

Electra sighed. "Admittedly, they are very pureblooded and there has been only one Weasley squib in over 700 years, but they don't even celebrate the holidays. At a minimum, witches and wizards should celebrate Midwinter, Midsummer, Samhain, and Beltane as well as participating daily in the magical community."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Harry said, offended on the Weasleys behalf and his own.

Regulus nodded solemnly and signed.

"We will do our best to correct that, not because we want to force it on you but because the holidays, traditions, and customs are important to our community and our family... both of which, you should feel comfortable in."

They had arrived at the lane Harry had to take to return to his house while the Blacks had to continue on the same lane they had been walking.

"Harry, we don't mean to upset you. We merely want you to hear our perspective and we would also like to hear yours.

"This is where we part ways. Regulus would like to visit you tomorrow. He needs to make sure you can protect your secrets from those you will encounter when you leave next month for school. Would you be comfortable telling him where your home is located so that he can find you or would you prefer to meet him somewhere?"

Harry shrugged. Though he knew that half the Order would shriek at him if they found out that a Death Eater could visit him, Harry didn't really distrust the Blacks. Logically, it was a bad decision to trust them but if they had wanted him dead, Electra had had plenty of chances already and Regulus, as well as everyone in the village, had had the opportunity on this little walk, yet nothing had gone wrong.

Harry told Regulus his Secret and then bid all four Blacks farewell. He was all too happy to return to the solitude of his house.

Later that night, Harry did a lot of thinking. He had no reason to trust Regulus but he badly wanted to every time he saw a reminder of Sirius appear unexpectedly. Harry was confused. He didn't know what to believe. He had always believed Dumbledore and the Order but now the Death Eaters were presenting him with a different and often contradictory perspective. When it came right down to it, he had no reason to believe either side. True: Dumbledore had kept Harry safe through Death Eater attacks for more than a decade. Also true: Dumbledore and the Weasleys had left Harry in an abusive situation. True: the Death Eaters had tried to kill Harry more than once. Also true: no one had attempted to during his time in the village, despite opportunity. However, there was still the prophecy to consider. Harry didn't want to consider it but he would have to. Dumbledore had said that Voldemort didn't know the part about one of them killing the other. Thus, after much thought, Harry concluded that, for now, he was doing what was best by avoiding Voldemort's murder attempts.

//-//-//-//-//-//-//-//-//-

The next afternoon, Regulus arrived. Harry had been sitting on the porch enjoying the warm breeze and the comfortable shade. Regulus stopped at the gate and waved before opening it and crossing the yard to the porch. Once Harry had offered him a seat and Cedar had brought a pitcher of iced pumpkin juice (it was a good thing his house elf knew how to be a good host because Harry would readily admit that his skills in that area were lacking), Regulus took out what looked vaguely like a Quick Quotes Quill and a long sheet of parchment. He set both on the table where Harry would be able to read from the page while still looking in Regulus' direction. Next, he stood the quill up and activated the spell. As he signed, the quill translated his signs into writing.

"How are you, Mr. Potter?" he asked.

Harry smiled nervously. "OK, I guess... could you call me Harry?"

Regulus smiled. "If you would prefer it."

Harry nodded weakly, hoping this wouldn't turn out as badly as his lessons with Snape had, and tried to ignore the sorrow that he felt when he saw Regulus smile the same smile Sirius had had.

"Now Harry, it's my job to teach newcomers how to protect the secret that they know where we are. We'll begin with a low-level Occlumency, a defense against voiceless, wandless Legilimency. Once you master that, we'll work on disguising your own reactions and reading other people's. Lastly, you'll learn a few tricks to lying with truths.

"If you're ready, in a moment, you'll look into my eyes and I'll cast the spell and you'll try to look away.

"Let's begin."

Harry locked eyes with Regulus and Harry felt only the faintest traces of the Legilimens spell. With little effort, he looked away.

Regulus signed again. "Well done. Most people don't even recognize the spell the first time. Now I'll try to look for something specific rather than just holding the spell. It will be harder to break. Ready?"

This time, Harry did just as well. As soon as he felt the spell, he looked away.

"Excellent."

Harry smiled. Praise was one thing he had never received in his previous Occlumency lessons.

"Let's move on then. This time, don't look away. Let me think I've fooled you and you don't realize that I'm looking for something. Try to figure out what I'm looking for and keep me from it by making a half-truth look like the whole truth."

Regulus cast the spell again and Harry fought the urge to look away. Instead, he concentrated on the feeling of the spell and tried to understand what it was searching for. After a minute, he saw that it had found what it was looking for when it hit on a memory of Harry enjoying a Sugar Quill, his favorite candy.

"So your favorite candy is Sugar Quills?"

"Yeah," Harry replied.

"What hints did the spell give you about what I was looking for?" Regulus said.

Harry thought about it but didn't really know the answer. "I don't know," he said.

Regulus frowned. "What did you try doing in order to find out?"

"I looked at the memories it was seeing and I looked at the spell."

"What did you see?"

"I don't know?"

"_Really_?" Regulus said, an eyebrow raised and a scowl shaping his mouth.

Harry sighed. "Well, I guess all the memories were food."

"This time, try asking the spell what it wants."

Harry nodded and they tried again... and again... and again. Regulus learned Harry's favorite article of clothing was his first Weasley sweater... his favorite (and only) gift on his tenth birthday was an old button... his worst detention from the past year was writing Umbridge's lines during Quidditch tryouts... and then, finally, Harry heard the spell say very clearly in a voice not unlike that of the Imperious curse, "Show me how much of your summer homework you've done so far."

Harry would have tried refusing but the point was to fool the other person into thinking they had discovered something. Instead, Harry attempted to point the spell towards the previous summer's homework. It took three attempts before he figured out the right way.

Regulus ended the spell and Harry grinned.

Regulus scowled at him. "I can tell by your face and by how much younger you looked in those memories that you managed the task. Don't be so obvious... but good job."

Harry nodded and Regulus cast the spell again so that Harry could practice.

After several more attempts, Regulus checked his pocket watch and decided that they had done enough Occlumency for the day.

"Well, I suppose that was acceptable for the first lesson," he wrote, though his face showed that his words were meant to be teasing. Then with a sincere smile, he wrote, "What do you need me for?"

Harry smiled nervously in response.

"Who taught you before?"

Harry frowned. "I don't think I'm supposed to say," he said, remembering that Snape might be found out as a spy if anyone said too much.

"Ah, Severus then," Regulus signed with a wince. "You have my sympathies."

"What?" Harry asked, trying to look confused.

Regulus laughed. "Don't worry, Harry. We all know that Severus is in the Order. Do you honestly think he would have answered the Mark on the night that my Lord returned otherwise, when he was named as a spy in at least seven Death Eater's trials? We don't abide by traitors."

Harry said nothing and kept his face as blank as he could manage.

Regulus pulled a small book out of a pocket and passed it to Harry. "Have this read by Friday. We've got to get rid of that give-away smirk and that phony innocent face."

Harry took the non-descript, title-less book and flipped to the first page. It was an introduction to detecting lies by watching a person's facial reactions. Regulus stood, pocketed his quill and parchment, waved goodbye, and headed across the porch.

"Bye, and thank you," Harry called.

Regulus turned and gave a small bow of his head in acknowledgement before he swept down the walk and out the front gate. Harry pocketed the small book and went inside. It was nearly suppertime so Harry went downstairs in an attempt to make himself something only to find Cedar arranging his supper on a tray already.

"Where is sir eating, Master Harry?" the little elf asked.

"In the sitting room, I guess," Harry replied, not really caring. When the elf nodded, Harry went back upstairs and threw himself onto the comfortable sofa as Cedar popped in with his food. He was really getting spoiled by having a house elf. Hermione would have a fit if she knew.


	6. Birds of a Feather

Two days later, Harry had read the book from Regulus, briefly explored the collection of books he had inherited, sat on his porch thinking and worrying, and eaten enough food that he didn't look so neglected. The big question was: Where was Dumbledore? Harry had been waiting ever since he portkeyed away from Privet Drive for a letter, a visit, a rescue mission, something. If Dumbledore knew that Harry was gone, he was doing a lousy job of finding out what had happened.

That was what was on his mind during his lesson with Regulus. In fact, that was all that was on his mind so Regulus moved up to voiceless, wanded occlumency in an effort to find things that had been pushed away by the worry. Harry was forced to struggle to clear his mind properly. Though Regulus explained that it would take practice and organizing the mind, Harry felt no better prepared than with Snape. Upon hearing that, Regulus took a bit more time to explain various methods of meditation. Harry resignedly accepted that he was going to have to practice and the two moved on to discussing the book and practicing lying effectively. Harry obviously had some work to do on that front as well, but Regulus told him not to be discouraged. Their lesson ended around noon and Regulus went home to his family while Harry ate on the porch.

It was then that the overdue letter from Dumbledore arrived.

_Harry,_

_I'm glad to see that none of your alarms are going off anymore. I knew you could work it out without putting yourself or your family in danger. Well done, my boy._

_As I did promise to keep you informed, I can only say that I am concerned by the lack of Death Eater activity. The most pressing issue in the last week has been editing the Ministry's Home Defense guide so that it can be sent out. It has taken quite a long time but I suppose Cornelius is very busy trying to keep his job. You were sent a copy but I received it instead. I assure you that there isn't anything you don't already know so I haven't bothered to send it along with Fawkes._

_One last matter: it has been brought to my attention that the book you were sent as part of Sirius' will was a guide on how to become an animagus. I must inform you that, despite it being wandless magic, its use still falls under the category of Underage Sorcery so you should not attempt the transformation over the holiday. I am sure that Minerva would be happy to shepherd you through the process once term starts if you are still interested at that time. I do not say this to make it more desirable for you to attempt the spell; I truly caution you that you will likely be served another notice if you try and this time the penalty could easily be expulsion._

_- Albus Dumbledore_

Harry crumpled the note, which was truly worthless in his opinion, into a ball and shoved it into his pocket. He went inside and into the study on the first floor to get parchment, quill, and ink. Fawkes followed behind him, completely unfazed by the change in surroundings.

_Yeah, I am doing fine now. – HP_

He sent the note off with Fawkes and sighed, unsure if he should feel happy or insulted or fearful that the Order hadn't noticed that anything was off. He pushed those concerns from his mind and a mischievous smirk lined his face. Dumbledore had said not to try the animagus transfiguration but the wards weren't going to let the Ministry know if he did. Harry ran upstairs and dug through his trunk until he found the book. Lying down on the bed, he began reading and didn't stop until he had finished the book and all the notes his Godfather, and occasionally his father, had made in the margins.

The book suggested that there were two different methods for learning the transformation: one was easier in principle but few could manage it, and the other was more commonly usable but took much longer. The first involved meditating on one's sense of self as personified in a single moment. Clearly, most wizards had no such situation, no place and time that they felt that they were being themselves completely, thus few were capable of this form of learning the transformation. The second method, which the margin notes indicated the Marauders had used when the first method had failed them, was to brew and drink a complicated potion that induced a magical trance and allowed the magic within the drinker to personify and take animal form. From that point on, both methods were the same. The wizard had to learn to use the two spells, one for going from human to animal and one for animal to human, while thinking about the form they were to take. The second method, however, was said to take more that four times as long to master the changes because the wizard so often fell into the trap of picturing his form from outside, imagining how it would look from someone else's perspective, rather than how it would feel to be that creature as they will come to know if they ever succeed in transforming.

The boys' notes sounded excited and amazed after they had completed the potion-induced process. Alongside the text that used dry, scientific language to lay out the method, they described a sense of easy, carefree floating for hours before they dreamt that several animals appeared around them. It was that collection of animals, the text said, that were the wizard's options for their animagus form. Once the animals appeared, the wizard had to decide which was best for them and their purposes and then indicate their selection to the animals before they could wake from the trance.

The boys' notes completely skipped the whole chapter of warnings about selecting the animal that was truly best for the individual and not just the most useful for his purposes or the one that others would expect or wish for him to take. Clearly, Harry had to hope that the first method would work for him because he did not have the skill required to brew the complicated potion, even with the recipe and the Marauders' hints in the margins.

Harry took the hour after supper and began working on the first step of the first method: identifying what it was to be Harry. At first, he thought of the Boy-Who-Lived as being important but he quickly realized that this wasn't right. He felt truly uncomfortable when he had to be the savior. Next, he thought about how comfortable he felt at the Burrow, with Ron's family. He soon realized that this wasn't quite right either, though it was closer to the real Harry. At that point, Harry had to stop and stretch his back after spending far too long sitting still and meditating on unsuccessful ideas. He would have to try again later; he was not yet ready to give up on the first method in favor of one that required him to brew a complicated potion.

The next day, Harry started in on the animagus study right after breakfast. He chose to sit on the porch swing in the hope that it would help his stiff back to sit upright. Unfortunately, nothing he tried that time worked either. He finally got up and took a break when his back started to spasm. He stretched and decided that a short walk was in order. He put on the only robe that still fit: a dress robe that Mrs. Weasley had fixed up a bit for his hearing the previous summer. After double-checking that his wand was in his pocket, Harry left the house and took a leisurely walk with no particular direction. He didn't know the village well enough to choose a path at random so he found himself following the same path the Blacks had used to get to the town square. Along the way, a few of the people who were outside or on the street smiled or waved and he smiled back. It wasn't until he was walking past the school building that someone stopped him.

"You there," an elderly witch called to him, "help me with these boxes."

The woman was having trouble levitating no less than fifteen crates. Harry drew his wand and took half of them, following her into the schoolyard and then into the front door of the building. The building itself was much more like a muggle school than it was like Hogwarts which surprised Harry a bit. He followed the woman along the bright corridors, stopping when she turned into an open office.

"Cassandra Vablatsky – Headmistress and Professor of Divination," the nameplate on the door read.

Harry followed her inside.

"Set those boxes down in the corner," she said, pointing to the corner where she had set her load down already.

When Harry had done as she asked, he turned back to her.

"You're a new face around here, Mr. Potter. I hope you are planning on attending my school next month. Doubtless we have much to catch you up on," she said.

Harry shrugged. "I guess."

She went to the large, neat desk and opened a drawer, withdrew a sheet of parchment, made several marks with a quill, then handed it to Harry.

"That's our supply list. You will need everything from the seventh-year section and you might consider looking through the books for the first six years and seeing if they are something you might wish to read as well. Of course, about half of those aren't allowed outside the wards, so plan on doing a lot of reading this summer. Since you'll be behind, I've marked the classes you'll need to start with and we'll see where you are with the others next summer."

Harry pocketed the list a bit apprehensively.

"Thank you for the help, young man. I will see you at the end of the month. Can you find your way out?"

Harry nodded and saw himself back out of the school. He wandered around town as best he could without getting lost. He saw several people, none of whom seemed the least bit interested in talking with him. Eventually, he headed back home, intent on trying the animagus transformation again. However, he knew that he also needed to practice ordering his mind for occlumency. He had fully intended to work on that until he was nearly home and he passed Mrs. Moore's house just as she was leaving, a Nimbus Two-Thousand over one shoulder and violently purple Quidditch robes draped over an arm. Harry was suddenly reminded of how long it had been since he had flown his own racing broom. Harry did not want to fail at his occlumency lessons so he did attempt to practice for them for a half-an-hour but his mind was full of the need to fly. As he went upstairs to retrieve the animagus book, that feeling made Harry realize that he was most himself when he was playing a nice, no-pressure game of Quidditch. Harry eagerly consulted the book and now that he had the right idea, he was able to meditate on the feelings of a match: the joy of flying, the fun of maneuvers and flying tricks, the skill of sighting the fluttering Golden Snitch, the thrillingly dangerous chance that a Bludger or another flyer might come after him, the game of outsmarting the Snitch as well as the other seeker to win the game.

Harry took a long enough break to eat supper in the dining room but after that, he ran right back up to his bedroom and prepared as the book suggested. Harry took a moment to memorize the incantation beginners had to say aloud over and over in a chant in order to change into their animagus form: Fio Ferus. Harry spent a full hour thinking of nothing but the joy of playing in a good Quidditch match while he chanted Fio Ferus. His legs protested after just half-an-hour and his back was sore after an hour but it only seemed to help; pain was a part of Quidditch, after all. When Harry opened his eyes, still thinking and chanting, he gasped in surprise. He had flight feathers all along the underside of his arms and sprouting out of his fingertips. Harry grinned broadly at his success.

Ridding himself of the feathers was another matter entirely. Thinking of his human form did not work. After more than an hour with no change, Harry began to worry. The notes in the margins of the book said that James had not been able to rid himself of the young antlers he had sprouted and they had needed Madam Pomfrey to fix him up. Luckily, after that, the Marauders had marked the pages with what had gone wrong before trying again. From their notes, Harry learned that he had to focus on what it meant to be human. As an example, the text suggested trying one's most important human responsibility while chanting Fio Humanus. It took an hour for Harry to right himself but he eventually made the feathers disappear and was able to enjoy his success. He resolved to practice the animagus transformation as often as possible until he mastered it.

//-//-//-//-//-//-//-//-//-

Two days later, in the afternoon, Fawkes arrived. There was no note from Dumbledore, only the usual Hogwarts letter and Harry's OWL scores. Harry sent a brief note in reply anyways.

_Mr. Harry Potter,_

_The Wizarding Examinations Authority is pleased to provide the results of your Ordinary Wizarding Level tests (aka O.W.L.s). Below you will find your subjects and a grade each for the theory and practical tests. The final grade is your combined score on all portions of the test. Your total number of O.W.L.s is listed at the bottom of the chart._

_SubjectTheoryPracticalCombined_

_Astronomy PAA_

_Care of Magical CreaturesEEE_

_CharmsEOO_

_Defense Against the Dark ArtsOOO_

_DivinationPDP_

_HerbologyAEE_

_History of MagicP-P_

_PotionsEOO_

_TransfigurationEOE_

_Total: 7_

_Headmaster's Note: All sixth years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry are required to take History. It is recommended that students continue in all subjects for which they earned an E or higher. Students who took the following tests should be aware of the differing standards of admission into NEWT level classes:_

_ClassMinimum Score_

_Arithmancy A_

_Ancient RunesA_

_Defense Against the Dark ArtsA_

_DivinationP_

_PotionsO_

Harry was quite pleased with himself. He had gotten into NEWT potions. In fact, it looked like the only class he wasn't eligible to take at NEWT level was astronomy which he didn't mind dropping. He didn't plan to continue Divination and was considering the same for Care of Magical Creatures. As much as Harry liked Hagrid, the class really wasn't very good and he was honestly worried about what dangerous creatures Hagrid might procure for an 'advanced' class to study. He would have to think about whether or not to take the class. Now that he knew it wouldn't be a waste, Harry got to work on the Potions homework, wondering what Snape would say to having Harry as a student for two more years.

That evening, Harry had another lesson with Regulus that went remarkably well. Regulus purposefully avoided memories that were sure to be problematic for Harry and as a result, the link with Voldemort didn't expand and do more harm than good.

"Harry, Electra wanted me to let you know that we'll be going to the market around 10 am on Sunday, if you want to meet us in town. It will give you a chance to buy your school supplies and some robes that fit," Regulus said with a smile once the lesson was finished.

Harry hadn't even given any thought to purchasing his school supplies, for August classes or Hogwarts, so he agreed.

Sunday, Harry was walking along Main Street at ten 'til ten, the bottomless bag he had inherited over a shoulder and his wand, money bag, and his two supply lists in his pockets.

He spotted the Blacks a few meters ahead of him and hurried to catch up.

"Hello," he said.

Regulus smiled and inclined his head in greeting.

"Hello, Harry," Electra said.

"Hi," Leo said, sounding rather annoyed at his sister, who was too busy turning her nose up at her brother to greet Harry.

"How have you been?" Electra asked.

"Ok," Harry replied.

"Come on, Mom. Let's go," Leo interrupted.

Electra raised an eyebrow at her son and he looked submissively at his feet.

"You know we have to wait for our time," Electra told him and they all walked over to stand two paces from the red portkey pole. As they did so, a witch and a wizard appeared, returning from the market laden with parcels.

Regulus checked his pocket watch and signed to Electra.

"Two minutes," she said. To Harry, she explained, "Today everyone can only use the portkey from this village at ten minute intervals starting two minutes after the hour. That way there isn't quite so much traffic."

Leo began chatting away with his sister and father, though Harry couldn't follow the conversation because he didn't understand the signs Regulus used.

"Leo's excited because he starts school this year," Electra explained. "He gets to buy books and potions supplies and a telescope and such today. We bought him and Cassie wands last year though, because of the war."

Harry could only nod in response. It had been a hard year for everyone, he supposed. "Why do you fight? I mean, I understand that you don't like what Professor Dumbledore wants but you have these villages that no one can find. Even if the laws change, you don't really have to follow them."

"But the price we pay for that small measure of freedom is that many of us can't leave the wards or even have easy contact with the outside world. The war isn't something we want but it is something we must endure so that one day we may be able to return to petty Ministry and Confederation politics and ridiculous conflicts between Headmasters and Governors."

She hadn't finished her explanation but Leo interrupted again and relayed from Regulus that it was time to go. All five of them stepped forward and reached out to touch the portkey pole. With their free hands, they snapped their fingers and were spun away, the most peculiar feeling coming over them as they spun around, seemingly attached to a portkey that had not traveled with them.

When the spell set them down in the town square of Llewllan, Harry was immediately pulled away from the pole they had been set beside. Many people wished to use it so they had to free up the space quickly. Once he was out of the way, Harry had a chance to look around. The edge of the square was lined with flamboyant magical tents like he had seen at the Quidditch World Cup. Each had a banner or a sign outside that said what was sold inside. He recognized several stores from Diagon Alley: Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, Magical Menagerie, and Quality Quidditch Supplies. There were also many he did not recognize and, though he didn't notice at the time, it would later occur to him that none of the companies had stores in Hogsmeade.

Electra, who had been speaking quietly with her husband, turned to Harry and said, "I'm going to help you shop, Harry. Regulus will take Leo and Cassie around and then we'll them meet back here at 1."

"You don't have to," Harry protested.

"I think I do," Electra interrupted. "I have seen your robes and you obviously need someone with a practiced eye to help you. The vampires may be excellent when it comes to high fashion but you will need clothing suitable for Hogwarts as well."

Electra led the way to the nearest tent: a stationary store which looked much like the one in Diagon Alley from inside but for the lack of windows. She set Harry to stocking up on quills and ink and parchment for school. Their next stop was the Apothecary, which smelled even more horrible inside the tent than Harry remembered the shop in Diagon Alley smelling. There, Harry bought a standard sixth year potions kit. After that, Harry stepped into Magical Menagerie and bought owl treats. They slowly worked their way through Harry's shopping list until only robes and books remained. Electra steered Harry towards a large, boxy, black tent with a banner that read, in blood-like letters, "Cruentus Sepulchrum; clothing for all tastes."

Pulling open the tent flap, Harry saw two female vampires already helping customers. A tall male vampire approached Harry and Electra as soon as they had stepped in and closed the door again.

"Hello, my name is Piotr. Can I help you?" he asked.

"Yes. Harry needs robes suitable for Hogwarts as well as several for normal wear. He will also need trousers, shirts, and shoes," Electra answered.

The vampire nodded and gestured gracefully towards a short pedestal that stood before a set of mirrors. "Climb up then, young man."

Harry did as he was asked. Though he was a bit leery of the vampire, he took his cue from Electra who seemed perfectly at ease.

Piotr produced a tape measure from the folds of his shiny black robes and began taking Harry's measurements, whispering the results to himself as he went. When he had all the numbers he needed, he pocketed the tape measure and went to a rack of robes near the back of the large, dim room. He returned quickly with a large pile of black robes in his arms and two Hogwarts hats balanced on his head.

"Let us get the school robes out of the way first," he said, passing Harry the first robe to try on.

It was a plain school robe, not at all different from the ones Harry had purchased from Madam Malkin's. In no time at all, Harry had three new, fitted robes and a hat set aside. Electra was busily browsing the racks and setting her selections of other styles and colors in a new pile for Harry to try. Piotr made a few selections of his own and then began handing them to Harry. Though Harry had no idea what qualified as a good robe, Electra obviously knew what she was doing and between her and Piotr, Harry soon had five robes that, he was told, were suitable for his status. Electra shifted through the pile again and withdrew two plain robes which Harry was made to try on before she put them on the pile to purchase, saying that Harry needed simple house robes as well.

After they finished with the robes, Piotr brought a screen of black and silver silk and stood it around Harry to hide him from view. Harry was then handed a large stack of trousers and shirts which he methodically tried on. Finally, the screen was taken away and Harry was provided with a few pairs of dress shoes and some boots to pick from. Added to the pile next were various undergarments and socks. Harry thought he was finished then but Piotr reminded Electra that it wouldn't be a bad idea for Harry to get a new cloak. Privately, Harry agreed. He had been using the same one since first year and it was quite short now.

When Harry was fixed up with a fine black cloak with a silver fastening, he, Piotr, and Electra gathered up all his purchases and made their way to the counter. A young-looking female vampire helped Harry tuck each item into Harry's bag while Piotr calculated the bill. Harry was a bit shocked by the high cost, though it was lower than he would have guessed, but he did reluctantly admit to himself that he had needed new clothing. Besides, he had budgeted more money than this when he was calculating his expenses to make a withdrawal from Gringotts earlier in the summer.

Harry and Electra had to pause outside the tent for a moment to let their eyes adjust to the bright summer sun again after the darkness in the vampires' tent but they were soon on their way to the bookseller's tent. The unfamiliar company had nearly as nice a selection packed into their magic tent as Flourish and Blotts. Harry quickly gathered the texts from his Hogwarts list. He had not been planning on buying Divination or Care of Magical Creatures texts until Electra scolded him and told him to take every class he had qualified for. Reluctantly, he did as he added the two texts to his collection and then moved on to the list from Professor Vablatsky.

The Professor had indicated that Harry would be taking History, Divination, Etiquette and Protocol, and Apparition. Similar markings beside book titles suggested which texts Harry should buy.

Magical History; vols 1-8, By Damyan Tenebres

Divination for the Average Witch or Wizard, By Cassandra Vablatsky

Contemporary British Wizarding Law and Custom, By Marcus Paladin

Preparatory Reading, Compiled by Headmistress Vablatsky

The Subtle Science and Exact Art of Potionmaking; vols 1-3, By Severus Snape

A Student's Guide to Magical Self-Defense, By Severus Snape

Introductory Combative Magic, By Severus Snape

Defensive and Battle Magics, By Severus Snape

Harry grimaced at seeing the author of the defense and potions texts. In contrast, upon seeing the text by Paladin, Harry thought immediately of how much Hermione would enjoy such a book. He wondered if she had read it yet so he asked the old gray-haired witch at the counter if the Hogwarts library had a copy.

The witch scoffed. "They do not," she said. "I know because I sold a copy to a Ravenclaw an hour ago who was quite sure of that fact."

Harry then decided to buy Hermione a copy. Maybe he would give it to her for Christmas.

"Which Ravenclaw?" Harry asked, wanting to know who else from Hogwarts lived in the villages.

The witch scowled. "I don't keep names," she said. "That will be 20 galleons and 4 sickles."

Harry handed over the coins.

Lastly, she explained about the green dot on the cover of each of Snape's books and the Preparatory Reading booklet.

"These marks mean you can't take the book outside the wards," she warned. "And I wouldn't recommend taking the Tenebres texts with you to Hogwarts. A bit controversial, those are," she said, grinning rather nastily, her crooked teeth showing.

Harry piled the books into his bottomless bag. He had 17 galleons and some change left.

Electra steered him out of the store tent. "It's nearly 1; let's find Regulus and the children and get something to eat."

Harry followed her obediently but he was already thinking of a way to politely excuse himself. Two and a half hours of shopping had him longing for the quiet of his home. This time last summer, he had been lying on his back under the bushes at the Dursleys. Now he was surrounded by Dark Lord sympathizers who, while not trying to kill him, were making Harry feel uneasy.

When the Blacks were reunited again, Harry thanked them and apologized for not staying, saying that he was uncomfortable being out in the open with so many people. Though he didn't say so, it was not lost on the Blacks that a large part of Harry's discomfort was caused by the loyalties of the people rather than the size of the crowds. Electra frowned and Regulus shrugged but they made no move to stop him, instead bidding him fond farewells. Harry used his ring to return to the safety of his home.

Later that week, having finished his homework and skimmed several of his new texts, Harry decided to devote an entire day to practicing the animagus transformation. He had only managed partial changes so far, gaining slowly but steadily. He could tell he was some sort of bird, one with brown-gold and white feathers. He was determined to figure out his form if it meant that he had to spend all day practicing.

He had been chanting the spell for thirty-minute intervals and then stopping to check his progress in the mirror. The partial transformations were quite disconcerting and Harry had to fight the urge to let his body revert back to human form every time he looked in the mirror. The first session had caused his arms to become wings and his legs to become bird's feet complete with talons. The second had caused his chest to become that of a large bird's. The third had sharpened his eyesight and turned his hair to feathers. The fourth elongated his nose and face. The fifth ended two minutes short when Harry suddenly lost the ability to chant and opened his eyes to see that he was a complete bird.

He marveled at the new feeling of claws and powerful wings, of being smaller but stronger. He waddled uneasily around the room.

His beautiful feathers ranged from nearly black to a deep gold, as well as a few white feathers on the underside of his wings. He had a hooked beak that looked like a dangerous weapon and his eyesight had improved dramatically. There was a vaguely lightening bolt-shaped marking between his eyes that extended into the gold skin around his beak. He spread his wings experimentally and nearly fell over; he would need to practice flying outside. This was most exciting. There was still the problem that it took nearly three hours of constant incanting to change but that would improve with practice (lots and lots of practice). After nearly an hour admiring his animagus form, Harry set to work reversing the process.

Returning was easier and he was fully human again in an hour. He dressed hastily and went to search the library and study for books that might help identify the kind of bird he could become but he found nothing of use. The Hogwarts library would have something, he hoped. Until then, he had only to practice the spells... and learn how to fly as a bird.

Harry sat on the porch that evening, trying to come up with a safe place to fly, a task made more difficult by the fact that he didn't know if his bird form was native to... wherever he was... or if he would have to hide himself lest he stick out as an obvious animagus. His pondering was interrupted by the arrival of Fawkes.

_Harry,_

_Tom is planning something but we don't know what. Make sure you stay safe in your home. That's all the war news I have for you. _

_-Albus Dumbledore_

_P.S. The Hogwarts Quidditch season will have to be cancelled. I know you will be disappointed but perhaps you can work with your Defense students again._

Harry's reply was another exercise in obliqueness that said nothing about where he actually was.

_Too bad about Quidditch. I'll be sure to stay inside our wards. - Harry_

He did plan to stay inside the wards... his and the villagers' wards, that is. He was feeling particularly Slytherin until he realized that he did not have a plan for what he would do if this attack was against him and his home in Eyrie's Edge. He couldn't apparate; the Dursleys didn't have a floo hookup; his portkey was one-destination-only. He evaluated his options and decided that his floo hook-up could be used and he could go to the Burrow or Mrs. Figg's if he was attacked. After all, there would be no need for secrecy under those circumstances. Still, all these considerations had him on edge. He decided he would sleep with his wand under his pillow that night instead of on his nightstand. He also learned how to set a few simple wards and an alarm spell on his bedroom and bed so that he would know if anyone got too close. This was caution, not paranoia, he told himself.


	7. An Excess of Advice

Soon after Dumbledore's letter had put Harry on edge, he decided again that plenty of Death Eaters must know where to find him and if they hadn't done anything yet, they probably weren't planning anything soon. Harry had discussed his worries with Regulus and the man had assured him that the Death Eaters had no plans to attack him at least as long as he was in the village. He didn't want to trust Regulus but he looked sincere, even with everything Harry had learned in the deception book, and the resemblance between Regulus and Sirius was strong enough that Harry felt inclined to believe the younger Black.

Harry's Occlumency lessons had been going well, at least up until Regulus switched from probing for happy thoughts to looking for better-hidden, painful ones. While it wasn't nearly as bad as what Snape had done, and Regulus did practice discretion, Harry still did awfully. It was their third such lesson when Regulus hit on the reason Harry reacted so badly physically, mentally, and emotionally to people seeing painful memories.

"Harry, have you talked about your childhood with anyone? In detail, I mean?"

"No," Harry admitted.

"And do you talk to anyone when you feel upset?"

After a moment, Harry replied, "No."

"Why not?" Regulus asked.

"Who would I talk to?" Harry said.

Regulus frowned. "Your friends, the people who are responsible for your well-being, your Head-of-House, the school Mediwitch, anyone you trust."

Harry shook his head. While he talked to his friends about some things, he didn't want to tell them any more than they already knew about his childhood. He already knew how they would react anyways: Ron would gape and Hermione would tut and run off to the library for books on child abuse. If he told Remus, the man would get upset at the Dursleys and probably try to go threaten them. If he told Mrs. Weasley, he would get a crushing hug and a few angry exclamations. If he told Mr. Weasley, the story would turn into a question and answer session about whatever muggle artifacts featured in the tale. And as for talking to McGonagall or Madam Pomfrey, he just couldn't.

When Harry didn't say anything, Regulus continued. "It's ok to tell people, you know. You don't have to hide it. You don't have be strong and happy and right all the time."

Harry nodded. Of course he knew that.

"But you do hide it," Regulus pointed out. "Why? You don't have to tell me, but just think about talking to someone. I don't think we can make any more progress in Occlumency until you do."

Harry hung his head. "Sorry," he said, apologizing for his inability to master Occlumency despite the helpful lessons.

"There's nothing to apologize about," Regulus said with a comforting smile. He stood and squeezed Harry's shoulder gently before gathering the parchment and quill and waving goodbye. He wanted to leave before Harry could tell him he was wrong. He was fairly certain of what the problem was but he knew fixing it wouldn't be easy or pleasant so he doubted they would have another lesson for a while, though Regulus would not stop visiting the lonely boy who was practically his nephew.

That evening, a letter came from the more social of Harry's two phoenix visitors. Harry had Cedar bring some apple for Aly while he read the brief letter she had brought.

_Mr. Potter,_

_I looked for you at the market on Sunday but I must have missed you. Are you hiding from everyone? From what I've heard about you, I would have thought you would be making daily trips to Brocksett to practice Quidditch. Maybe I've just missed your practices too, or maybe my source is prejudiced. Anyway, I hope that you were able to take care of matters with Gringotts. I eagerly await your correspondence. _

_In the meantime, despite having set the textbook, Hogwarts is still looking for a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. We can't get one of our own people in unless we can completely discredit the current candidates. So, are any of these women likely to make an attempt on your life?_

_Marguerite Brillaird_

_Atalanta Gorges_

_Katherine Burke_

_The other candidates were Sybill Trewlaney and Arabella Figg but they have already been disqualified. _

As puzzled as Harry was by the letter, he wrote a suspicious reply and sent it back with Aly as soon as she finished her apple.

_If those professors aren't Death Eaters than I don't know what reason they would have to kill me. I've never heard of any of them before._

_-Harry Potter_

The reply arrived quickly.

_Mr. Potter,_

_I do believe Madam Umbridge stands as a shining example of how cruel non-Death Eaters can be. And Lockhart can hardly be considered a good professor despite being unaligned. I expect you will see that Death Eaters can make excellent professors when you go to August school. Just you wait and see. 8am on Aug 1st will bring a new perspective. I'll send Aly by after school so you can tell me how it went._

Harry sent no reply, turning instead to reading his texts for the month of school that was set to begin in just a few days.

The next day, a burst of flame beside Harry's bed early in the morning had him looking around sleepily and spotted a rather agitated Fawkes instead.

_Harry,_

_I sincerely hope that the disappearance of your vault keys does not mean that you left the safety of your home to visit Gringotts. There have been three serious attacks in the past week: two torturings of muggles and one attempted assassination of Amelia Bones. I simply cannot believe that you would do something like that so I will not. The goblins must have discovered something on their own and made the proper, though misguided procedural arrangements. You know how important your safety is to us. I hesitate to think what Molly Weasley would do if you ever put yourself at risk foolishly and she finds out._

_Speaking of Molly, you are to present her with your vault key when you board the Hogwarts Express at the start of term and she will purchase your supplies and have them delivered to Hogwarts in time for the first day of classes._

_I send my best birthday wishes with you now, as we will not be corresponding again before then. Your friends tell me that they have chosen the most marvelous gifts for you but will give them to you in person on the Express._

_-Albus Dumbledore_

Harry put his lessons with Regulus to use in writing a reply. Dumbledore could check his claims with every truth spell known to wizard-kind and they would only agree with Harry.

_I did not leave Privet Drive to go to Gringotts. What happened in the attacks? Is everyone ok? Did you capture the Death Eaters? I didn't feel or see anything through my scar. - Harry_

Harry sent the note off with Fawkes and then waited for a response. Two hours later, he figured Fawkes would find him and went to work on homework. Long after dark, still waiting for a reply, he fell asleep on top of his Divination book.

The following day, Fawkes had still not returned. Harry decided that Dumbledore must be extremely busy. After all, there was a teacher to hire, a war effort to direct, and he was probably doing a lot of Ministry work as well. To take his mind off his impatience, Harry practiced the animagus transformation. It was much more difficult to focus his mind this time but he had been improving and the change was almost instantaneous, if still done verbally. When it was as quick as possible, it would be time to begin learning to do the spell non-verbally.

After changing back and forth five times, Harry had the overwhelming urge to go flying. It was late afternoon already but Harry figured he could get some practice in. He went up to his bedroom, got his Firebolt, and put on an old robe. He then left his house for the Quidditch pitch in Brocksett. As he walked, he caught site of his neighbor, Mrs. Moore, who seemed to have the same idea. The old woman was jogging, warming up for her practice. Harry caught up with her just as they entered the town square. She was fast for an old lady. They both used the portkey but when they landed, Harry found himself sprawled on the ground and the woman standing over him laughing.

"Still haven't got the hang of portkeys yet, ay sonny?" she teased.

Harry picked himself up and dusted his robes off.

"Haven't seen you before," she said conversationally. "You good enough for a broom like that?"

Harry smiled. "Of course I am."

"What position d'ya play?"

"Seeker."

"Aye. You've the body for it, I reckon," she said as she led the way to pitch that was visible behind some houses and a few tall trees. "Ever played Chaser?"

"Not in a match. Why?"

"I'm meeting a few friends: my team. If you're any good with the Quaffle, we can play four-on-four."

"I'm not bad," Harry said, thinking of the little matches he had played with the Weasleys. "I'd like that, if your friends don't mind."

"They won't. If they do, I'll have 'em flying drills all practice instead," she smiled toothily.

They crested a hill and Harry smiled at the sights and smells of a Quidditch stadium. He was just itching to get out there and play.

Mrs. Moore jogged to the center of the pitch where six others sat on the grass beside their brooms, stretching and chattering happily. Harry followed a bit behind her and joined in on the stretches.

"Team!" Mrs. Moore shouted. "Mr. Potter's joining us today. That means we'll be playing four-on-four and my favorite H.S. drills are postponed."

The team cheered and a young man leaned towards Harry and whispered, "Thanks, mate. Those drills are killers. H.S... Hippogriff Stampede... 'cause that's how you feel after practice."

"Oh, excellent. Let's pick sides," a young blond witch said at the same time.

There was a flurry of shouting as the team sorted itself out. When there were three players beside Harry and three beside Mrs. Moore, the noise ceased.

"Spilt up you two! Playing against one Peasegood is bad enough; I won't have you both on my tail," Mrs. Moore demanded.

One of the young blond witches switched with a middle-aged black wizard. With that finished, Mrs. Moore whipped out her wand and conjured eight strips of cloth, 4 black and 4 white, and handed one set to each team. Harry followed the others' lead and tied his like a headband. It was now clear who belonged to which team.

"Right then," Mrs. Moore said. "For Mr. Potter's benefit, I'll just introduce everyone.

"The gentleman on my team is Hector, the lovely brunette witch is Muriel, and our Peasegood is the lovely Dilys. I'm Rudella. Those clowns next to you are Kevin, Barney, and Daisy"

As she introduced everyone, Harry received polite smiles. Hector looked closest to Harry in age, perhaps recently out of school. Daisy and Dilys, both blond and likely in their late twenties, seemed to sisters with Daisy slightly the elder. Muriel was an older woman with graying brown hair and a Seeker's build. Kevin, an older wizard, and Barney who was probably his son, were both broad-shouldered and muscular like Beaters.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Harry."

"Right, now let's play Quidditch," Kevin snapped impatiently.

Mrs. Moore held up a wrinkled hand to silence him. "We'll play for an hour. Team with the most points wins. Keep it clean – I doubt Muriel wants to have to treat any injuries, especially since the Bludgers are staying in their crates today," she said. "Decide who's playing Keeper."

Kevin and Hector volunteered before any conversation could be had on the matter and without pause, they mounted their brooms and waited for their teammates to do the same.

The Peasegood ladies flew to the center of the field, the Quaffle tucked under Daisy's right arm. Harry, Barney, Muriel, and Rudella mounted their brooms and everyone took up positions on the field, hovering on level with the hoops.

The Quaffle was thrown straight up into the air and the sisters raced to snatch it. Daisy caught it and tossed it sharply to Barney, who raced down the field. When his way was blocked by Rudella, he tossed the ball to Harry who was not far behind and three meters off to the right. Harry caught it and was blocked immediately by Dilys. Harry rolled and dove under her, coming up on the other side to pass to Daisy who passed to Barney, only to have it intercepted by Muirel who crouched low on her broom and shot off towards the other end of the field. She made it nearly back to midfield before Harry got in her way and she had to swerve to avoid crashing, losing the Quaffle in the process. Below the two seekers, Daisy caught the ball and turned around again, heading towards the hoops. Nearly there, she faked a shot and passed to Barney who scored neatly before Hector could recover from Daisy's feint.

Half-an-hour later, the score was 40-20, for Harry's team. Harry had scored one of those himself. Rudella called time out to berate both Keepers, especially Hector, who was the team's usual Keeper. When play resumed, it was another twenty minutes until anyone scored, and then it was Rudella and Dilys together. Though the Quaffle moved a lot for the final ten minutes, there were enough turnovers that there were only three scoring attempts and then they were all blocked. The final score was 40-30 and Harry's team won. Rudella paid passing compliment to everyone, invited Harry back for another game sometime, and said goodbye, claiming she could hear her bath calling. The other team members packed up the Quaffle and thanked Harry for the game, then left slowly. Harry took another two laps around the pitch and then did several Seeker drills before he too was ready to leave.

He landed and shouldered his broom. As he turned to leave, he saw a child sitting on the ground at the edge of the pitch. He looked around and didn't see any adult so he went to scold the child himself. The toddler could have been seriously hurt if she had walked onto the pitch while a team was using Bludgers.

When he reached the girl, he sat down and said, "Where are your parents?"

"Home," the girl said, looking up at Harry with innocent black eyes.

"Why aren't you at home with them?" he asked her. She looked to be about three so she certainly wasn't old enough to be wandering around on her own.

"'Cause," she answered.

"Well you shouldn't be out without them, and you can't come on the Quidditich field. You could have been hurt."

She just smiled up at him.

"Where do you live? I'll walk you home."

"Can I ride your broom? Mommy sometimes takes me for rides on hers."

"No. Does Mommy know where you are?"

"No. Please. I really, really like broom rides."

Harry sighed. "No. What's your name?"

They were interrupted by a tall black-robed figure stalking across the field.

"Laevina Snape, your mother has been worried sick about you. Portus!"

While the rock was turning into a portkey, Severus Snape grabbed his daughter's hand and knelt in front of her.

"Laevina, you cannot leave the house without your mother or myself," he said through gritted teeth.

The girl met his eyes evenly and said nothing.

"Take the rock and go straight to your mother," he ordered, letting go of her hand.

She did as she was asked and picked up the rock, suddenly disappearing.

Unfortunately for Harry, who was motionless, dumbfounded by the notion that Snape had a daughter, the girl's disappearance meant that Snape had no reason not to turn his usual malice on Harry.

"You _are_ here," he sneered. "I do not approve. You will stay away from my family and you will refrain from mentioning their existence to anyone or you will not like the consequences."

Harry frowned. He wasn't unaware of the danger of admitting he knew anyone in the villages.

But Snape was not finished ranting.

"I obviously, amazingly, overestimated you. What would you have done if this was a trap?" He glared angrily. "It should have been a trap. The spawn of Potter and Evans isn't welcome here. I have half a mind to drag you back to your aunt and obliviate you myself."

That made Harry angry. "That won't be necessary," he snapped back. "I'm not going to tell anyone about this place. I happen to like it here."

"Liking it isn't enough! You are a spoiled child, Potter. As if you could keep secrets. I have no doubt that you won't be at Hogwarts for an hour before all your little friends know about this place, not to mention the werewolf and the Headmaster. Or needn't we wait that long? Have you already told them?" Snape growled.

"The Order won't find this place because of me," Harry insisted. "I don't know why everyone here is being nice to me – well, everyone but you – but I needed to know things that I wasn't ever going to learn under Dumbledore's thumb."

"Dumbledore's thumb?! Do you even understand what you're doing? Of course not. A perfect Gryffindor such as yourself would not knowingly accept a few books and a house and ignore the torture and the murder." Snape snarled. "Did you even consider that, Potter!?"

Harry glared. "I just need to think!"

"You don't have time to think!"

"Well I need it anyways!"

"You're such a child! It is time to grow up, Potter!"

"I think I know that!" Harry spat.

"You know nothing!" Snape shouted.

Harry gritted his teeth and didn't reply. He didn't care to let the argument escalate further where he could easily find himself at wand point. It was time to retreat.

"I will be watching you, Potter," Snape threatened.

"You do that," Harry replied. "If you need me, I'll be at home, at the end of the shortest lane in Eyrie's Edge."

"Get out of my sight."

Harry did not need to be dismissed twice. He picked up his broom, feeling Snape's eyes following him. Then he used his ring to get home, well away from Severus Snape.

"Snape has some nerve," Harry grumbled as he climbed the stairs to put away his Firebolt and take a shower. But when the anger ebbed, Harry began to think. Was he really ok with living in a town of Voldemort's supporters? Even if he wasn't a target at the moment, the Death Eaters were still attacking other people. While Harry was enjoying a pleasant vacation in the village, members of the Order, people who were doing their best to protect him, could be dying at the wands of someone he passed on the street or practiced with at the Quidditch pitch. Harry knew he could not support torture and murder. Still, that didn't mean he had to bring the war to these towns. He didn't want to see people like the Blacks die because of their beliefs. And then there was the question of what Harry believed. He hadn't really thought about it. Certainly he didn't believe in blood purism but he also didn't think that muggles needed to know about magic. He just wasn't sure about where that put him in the war, especially with the prophecy hanging over his head. He only knew that he wanted to put off doing anything for as long as he could... which was why he had told Snape he needed more time.

Then there was the professor to think about. Again, he had to wonder which side Snape was loyal to. If Snape was loyal to Dumbledore, it would make sense for Snape to hide his family if he thought Voldemort might use them against him but then it would be pointless to hide them in a Death Eater town. Was he hiding them from the Ministry? Harry had never heard of any Ministry effort to round up Death Eaters' families. There were certainly enough children at Hogwarts with Death Eater parents that it didn't seem likely. Maybe Voldemort was holding Snape's family hostage... but that wouldn't make sense because then Snape would have led the Order to the village long ago. Harry didn't have an answer.

Harry thought about these things all through supper and right up until bedtime. Then, he had to put them aside to practice Occlumency and to sleep. He had strange dreams that night, ones that he could only vaguely recollect in the morning, about a forest and a stag.


	8. The Headmistress

The morning of the 31st was sad for Harry. He had no gifts to look forward to. He prepared himself for a solitary day, planning to go to the Quidditch pitch and fly in bird form. He walked to town square and took the portkey to Brocksett, then walked to the Quidditch pitch, which was thankfully empty, and found a hidden spot to transform. Though flying was instinctual, it was still difficult to get right at first. Harry's biggest problem was getting control of his wings. He hadn't chosen a spot he could glide from so he needed to get himself into the air before he could practice. After several attempts, he managed a bit of altitude without tumbling to the ground. After that, it was considerably easier and Harry was able to make short flights across the pitch. Around the time that his previously unused flight muscles started to protest, Harry heard voices and saw movement on the path to the pitch. He hastily landed in the shadows under the bleachers and changed back, then left, passing three young boys with Comets on his way back to the village.

Harry returned home and ate lunch on his porch. Afterward, he laid down on the swing and became so relaxed by the warm summer breeze and the rocking motion that he fell asleep. When he awoke, he wondered if it was a bad idea to be so relaxed given his current situation but he decided that as long as nothing bad happened he wouldn't worry about it. Instead, he sought a piece of cake from Cedar's kitchen.

On the first day of August, Harry got up early, packed his schoolbag, put on a new green robe, ate breakfast, and walked to the school building. When he had gotten as far as Main Street, he saw more children than he had expected, some coming from the portkeys in town square, some coming from other streets in Eyrie's Edge, and some just meandering around in front of the school and waiting for classes to start. Harry, not recognizing anyone he saw, ended up standing alone near the closed doors of the school.

Soon, a short wizard in blue robes came and opened the doors. He watched the students file in, spotted Harry, and stopped him.

"Mr. Potter, you will be needing this," he said, handing a schedule to Harry before turning and walking away.

Harry read the schedule and realized he had to hurry to find to his first class: history. It took him a few minutes to get to the appropriate classroom. He was immensely grateful that the school was small and everything in it was stationary. He was a bit late but when he opened the door and stepped inside, he found that the professor had not yet arrived.

Harry scanned the room and was surprised to recognize two DA members: Michael Corner and Hannah Abbott. They weren't paying the least bit of attention to him, nor were any of the other students. Harry quickly took a seat at an empty desk near the back of the classroom. He took out his note-taking supplies and arranged them comfortably, sighing at not having Hermione to copy notes off of later.

It was only a minute before the professor, a tall, fat wizard in brown robes, entered the classroom and called for order.

He took roll, which was a stressful experience for Harry as he waited for the reaction when his name was called. Though all the students turned to look at him, Harry was relieved that the only comment made was from the professor.

"Welcome, Mr. Potter. I am Professor Wenlock. Stay after class, if you please."

Harry nodded and relaxed only when the professor went right on reading the roll as if Harry were just any other new student and then the others turned back around slowly. He didn't miss the glare from two boys in the front row but neither did he miss the small smiles from the faces he recognized from Hogwarts.

Finally, the roll was finished and it was time for the lesson.

"Students," Professor Wenlock began, "today we will begin our review of last year's topics. You can look forward to spending three days on that and then we will begin our overview of seventh year, modern history material. I hope that by spring, we will be finished with the in depth lessons and will be able to move on to the eighth year contemporary issues syllabus, but it has been thirteen years since I've had a class achieve that goal. We will have to work hard.

"Now then, who would like to start us off? The debut of the 19th century, please."

From then on, Harry took frantic notes, trying to get down everything he needed to study from the sixth year lessons. Harry had only a vague idea of most of the topics mentioned. He would obviously need to read the entire series of textbooks and, as it turned out, that was what the professor wanted to tell him after class.

Apparition class was next. This course was a month long and taught only to seventh years. By the time Harry went back to Privet Drive, he would be prepared for the Ministry Apparition test, though he would not be eligible to take it until the following summer. As exciting as that was, the first lesson was terribly boring. They all sat down cross-legged on pillows and tried to familiarize themselves with their bodies so that they wouldn't forget anything when they apparated. That lesson could not end soon enough for Harry, who had been spending an awful lot of time meditating over the summer between occlumency practice and the animagus work.

Finally, it was time for a break to eat. All of the students made their way to a large, bright room with long tables and benches. There, some students took bags or baskets of food from their schoolbags while others summoned their family house elves to bring them something. Frowning at how different it was, Harry snapped his fingers and summoned Cedar. Obviously, she had known what he wanted even though he hadn't. She appeared with a tray of sandwiches and fruit and a large goblet of pumpkin juice. Harry thanked her and sent her home, then took the tray to an empty seat, well away from anyone else, and began to eat.

No one approached Harry while he ate. Even those who took seats nearby ignored him. Harry made no effort to make friends. He felt he didn't really belong. Having nothing better to do while eating, Harry looked around for familiar faces. He saw Hannah Abbott eating with two other girls her age at a table across the room. Michael Corner was eating and gesturing wildly as he conversed with two boys while a starry-eyed girl looked on. He recognized two Slytherins in his year but couldn't remember their names. He thought a few younger faces might be familiar as well. According to his schedule, he would spend all of the following day with his fellow Hogwarts students so he figured he would know soon enough. When Harry had finished eating, he summoned Cedar back and she took the dishes home while he went in search of the Divination classroom.

Professor Vablatsky did not need to take roll. Perhaps this was because she had the Sight or perhaps it was simply that she was Headmistress and ought to know her students' names by their seventh year. They began the lecture immediately, reviewing advanced methods of reading tealeaves by practicing on each other. Harry was shocked at how simple it seemed after the professor took him aside and explained a few important things that a person without the Sight needed to do, like using one's wand to trace a few runes onto the cup before swirling and draining the leaves. As behind as Harry was in that regard, Professor Vablatsky was impressed with his thorough knowledge of omens and symbols of death.

Harry's next class, and the last one for the day, was Etiquette and Protocol, which he noted dismally that he had with fourth years, all of whom were taking the class for the first time. The teacher, a regal, blond witch, did not even take roll, explaining that she didn't want to know anyone's name and status. The class would teach them how to behave according to their position and only then would she introduce herself to them. Until then, the students were to call her Madam or Professor and she would call them Boy or Girl. She wrote a course outline on the board, describing the month's overview and then the yearlong outline. Harry would be in school long enough to learn how to dress himself for various occasions and how to introduce himself properly to people and creatures of varying statuses. If he wanted to be caught up for next year, he would have to read and remember the first half of the textbook. Harry was writing that in the margins of his notes when he felt a slap across his shoulders and he looked up to see the professor standing behind him.

"Sit up properly, boy," she snapped.

"Sorry, ma'am." Harry responded immediately to the Petunia-like tone, straightening his back and averting his eyes submissively.

The professor walked away, satisfied for the moment. The lecture on dressing for all manner of formal occasions bored Harry. It seemed like a great waste of time.

At the end of the day, Harry walked home, resigned to the fact that he had a lot of reading to do to catch up. On his front porch, he met Aly, just as the Death Eater had promised. There was no note but Harry already knew what he wanted to write. If Dumbledore wasn't going to tell him anything about the recent attacks then there was no reason not to ask the Death Eaters. He wrote a note specifically asking if the Death Eaters had tortured and murdered the muggles and attempted to murder Amelia Bones like Dumbledore had claimed.

Aly returned that evening with a note that read only:

_Mr. Potter, _

_The answer to your question is yes._

//-//-//-//-//-//-//-//-

The next day was spent entirely in a class with the other Hogwarts students. Professor Clarke gave lessons from the Preparatory Reading booklet which contained short lessons in topics like basic healing spells, household charms, muggle studies, and beginning Dark Arts. Harry was glad that the chapter on Dark Arts would not be covered until the following year; he drew the line at practicing Dark Magic beyond his parseltongue ability.

In addition to teaching from the text, Professor Clarke also helped with lessons for other classes and answered questions. From the many questions the other students had, Harry gathered that he wasn't nearly as far behind as he had thought, though he still had some catching up to do.

//-//-//-//-//-//-//-

For a week, classes progressed as well as could be expected. History lessons were only slightly more interesting than Binns' lectures on giant wars and goblin rebellions. Harry was still convinced that Etiquette lessons were a waste of time. He wished they would hurry up and get to the section in the book that covered magical law; at least that was remotely interesting. In Divination, they finished reviewing tealeaves and were due to start reviewing dream interpretation next. Only Apparition lessons proved to be a challenge. In the second class, the students had been allowed to attempt to apparate a few meters. One boy had splinched himself but the professor had fixed him up quickly and offered him a pain relief potion before having him try again. Harry was unsuccessful which was extremely frustrating. He knew he could do it because he had apparated accidentally back in primary school. When he succeeded in the third class, he was quite pleased. Once he got the hang of it, the professor allowed him to begin increasing the distance.

Fawkes arrived that weekend with a brief note with empty answers and vague hints at what was happening. Harry told himself that Dumbledore must just be too busy to keep up with Harry's demand for information. He briefly entertained the possibility that Dumbledore suspected something and that was the reason for the change in attitude but that idea was not pleasant and Harry had to refuse to worry about it since he wouldn't know until start of term either way.

The second week of school was much the same as the first. Harry avoided talking to people, feeling intensely out of place, and the treatment he received from the other students and teachers only affirmed that feeling. Though Hannah and Michael did say hello, not even they made an effort to befriend Harry. Instead, Harry spent all of his time on his studies. He practiced the animagus transformation, working on improving the speed of the change when cast non-verbally; he did wonderfully in apparition lessons, progressing to apparating to a classroom down the hall and back; he read his texts, even beginning the ones by Professor Snape. Once Harry opened the defense books by Snape, he spent a great deal of his time reading them. They were not easy reads by any means but they were thought provoking. Harry definitely preferred them to any of the texts Hogwarts used. The first two volumes went quickly, finished in two days of readingin his spare time each. The last took longer. Spending hours each day all weekend on it, Harry finally finished and sat back to consider them. He thought that the most impressive feature was the discussion of tactics, things like what situation each spell was good for and how to coordinate an attack or defense with a team. Even the books the Room of Requirement had provided for the DA had not gone into that sort of detail.

The next week, Harry started in on Snape's three book series on potions. Though it was far from an enjoyable topic for him, he would have to do a decent job in the class if he wanted to last long enough to take NEWTs. In between lessons on scrying, household charms, the rise of the evil wizard Grindelwald, apparating across town, and introducing oneself properly to sentient magical creatures, Harry managed to finish a year's worth of text every day with varying levels of comprehension. While these books did take the time to explain more about the importance of different interactions and procedures than the ones Snape used at Hogwarts, Harry still didn't really understand. By the time he reached the sixth year, he was confused more often than not. He continued to read, even though he didn't understand yet, and hoped that it would make more sense after Snape's lectures. Harry wondered what the classes were like in Potions and Defense at the village school without the likes of Snape, Umbridge, Lockhart, or Quirrell.

Midweek, Harry began to look for Fawkes. He was overdue by about two days. Aly had stopped by twice without a letter, perhaps offering to carry a letter for Harry instead, but Harry had nothing to say after the callous, casual affirmation of the last letter. He had expected some sort of explanation. The third day Aly showed up, he wrote one word: _Why?_. Aly took the letter off and did not return the next day.

Regulus, however, did show up while Harry was lying on his back in the grass of his front yard. They moved to the porch where Regulus' quill could translate.

"How have you been, Harry?" Regulus asked.

"Fine," Harry said.

"Are you enjoying school?"

Harry shrugged. "It's ok. I only have another week and a half. Professor Smythe said I could start apparating between towns next lesson."

"Excellent. That's great progress. Most students take a good bit longer to reach that level, and you're still quite young."

Harry only nodded in response.

Regulus seemed to interpret the gesture as an unwillingness to accept praise because he asked Harry, "Have you given any thought to who you might share your memories with?"

Harry frowned. "No." He had thought about it; there just wasn't anyone he wanted to talk to. Even if Sirius was alive still, he thought painfully, he probably wouldn't have talked to him either.

"Electra and I would gladly serve as confidants for you, should you wish it," he offered.

Harry shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I just don't trust you," Harry admitted reluctantly.

Regulus smiled. "That is expected. I am sure you have plenty of people you trust who would help you if you asked; I merely wished to extend the offer."

Harry shrugged and was about to say something when Fawkes appeared.

In response, Regulus said, "I see you have important matters to attend to. I believe you know where to find me if you wish so I'll take my leave."

Harry smiled gratefully and said goodbye. Once Regulus was gone, Harry took the letter from Fawkes and read.

_Harry,_

_Be ready to leave for the Hogwarts Express on the morning of August 31st. The Order will send a guard with a portkey to King's Cross. Do not forget to have your key and a list of what supplies you need to give to Mrs. Weasley._

_-Albus Dumbledore_

Harry was not pleased with the lack of information but he had bigger problems than that. He needed transportation back to Little Whinging. He couldn't do magic outside the wards so apparating himself was out. He didn't have anywhere to floo to that wouldn't get him caught outside the Dursleys' house. He supposed he could ask Electra to apparate him to Greater Whinging and from there he could catch a muggle bus to Privet Drive and he had just enough muggle money left in spare change for fare. He figured he could avoid paying Aunt Petunia if he went home early that morning and waited on the front lawn without imposing on her. He scribbled an empty reply to Dumbledore and sent it with Fawkes, then sent a more formal letter with Cedar to the Black home asking Electra if she would help him get back to Surrey.

Electra sent a reply right away agreeing and Harry was able to relax for a few minutes before he was off up the stairs to pack his school trunk. Even with the packing spell he had learned from the text booklet, his things wouldn't all fit in his trunk. He excluded all the books that were forbidden outside the wards, the history texts, the letters from the Death Eater, and all but one of his most formal robes. He eventually had to leave behind all of his first and second year textbooks as well. Finally, everything was packed, his invisibility cloak was on top for use sneaking back into the yard of Number 4, he had his bottomless bag set aside to put his trunk in for travel, and he had a mental list of things that he had yet to pack that would need to be added before he left. That finished, Harry took time to relax and fly around his small back yard in bird form in an effort to forget his worries about getting back without being caught.

//-//-//-//-//-//-//-//-

In the fourth week of classes, Harry got such a shock in Divination that the Headmistress sent him home for the rest of the day. The problem had arisen on the first day of the lesson on prophecy interpretation, a topic Harry had been looking forward to since it was mentioned the first day of class.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Professor Vablatsky had said, "Please copy down the sample prophecies on the board and then we will analyze them as a class."

Harry and the rest of the class had dutifully copied down the five prophecies written in large chalk letters on the three blackboards. It was the fifth one that caused Harry to panic. It was the prophecy Dumbledore had shown him in June: the one about the Dark Lord and the marked child, him. Harry fidgeted nervously, distracted by questions of how anyone had found out the prophecy. When the lecture finally worked its way around to that last prophecy, Harry was all ears.

"Who would like to begin on number five?" the professor asked. "First, does anyone know the particulars of this prophecy?"

Harry avoided eye contact and held his breath, hoping he wouldn't be called on. When the professor chose Flavus Tenebres, Harry listened apprehensively.

"1839, Cassandra Trewlawney, Minister of Magic Picus Yaxley, Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore," Tenebres said, following the format established in the first four examples: year, Seer, witness, subjects.

Harry looked around, confused and hoping that someone else would correct the blond wizard.

"That is correct," Professor Vablatsky said.

Harry's face immediately assumed a look of disbelief. That wasn't right. He was about to say something when he realized the class had moved on and he might miss the more important information about possible meanings if he didn't pay attention. He decided to wait and see what else was said about the prophecy before he asked the professor after class.

"No one knew who it was talking about until Dumbledore went to the Continent to fight Grindelwald. Then the Keeper of the Hall of Prophecy knew because Dumbledore was born on August 23rd, 1939, the end of the seventh month if you measure in full moons like your supposed to with prophecy," Victoria Pearce was saying.

"Yes," the professor agreed. "Can anyone add anything else?"

Harry again looked away. No one else said anything either.

"That's quite alright. That is as much as we know about this prophecy. While I am sure that Dumbledore knows what each part means now, as is not uncommon, he did not even know about the prophecy until after he had fulfilled it. Few prophecies are known ahead of time and those that are seldom make sense until the act or acts they foretell have already occurred..."

Professor Vablatsky kept lecturing but Harry was not paying any attention. What she had just said couldn't be true, he told himself. He didn't even want to consider that possibility. It would be a gross betrayal of his trust for Dumbledore to mislead him like that. Dumbledore wouldn't do that. He just wouldn't.

Harry didn't even notice that the class had ended while he was deep in thought. Professor Vablatsky approached him cautiously when all the other students had left for their next class.

"Mr. Potter," she said.

Harry jumped and looked around. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said.

"Are you unwell?"

Harry shook his head but the Headmistress clearly did not believe him.

"You look dreadful," she insisted.

Harry was thankful she made no claims of Seeing illness or death in his future but made no move to respond, his mind still elsewhere.

"Go home for the day, Potter. Do you need assistance or can you travel by yourself?"

"I..." he began in protest. But then he sighed and decided it was for the best. "I have a portkey."

She nodded. "Then gather your belongings and use it. If you don't feel better by supper, send your house elf for a healer."

Harry nodded and packed away his notes and quill. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he said, "Thank you, Professor."

She merely waved a hand in dismissal.

Harry spoke the passwords for his portkey and was whisked away to his home.

Pausing only to drop his schoolbag on the sofa, Harry summoned Cedar and asked if there was any Calming Draught in the house. The elf immediately retrieved a bottle of the potion and a cup to measure it in which Harry took up to his room. Harry lay down on his bed and breathed deeply, then poured his usual dose of the potion into the cup and drank it. He may have taken a bit too much in his distracted state though, because within five minutes, he was sleeping.

He dreamt that night about the forest and the stag once more, but this time, Dumbledore was there saying that he had never intended to hurt Harry and dream-Harry believed him. Though there was much more to the dream, Harry couldn't remember what it when he woke up.


	9. All in Order Again

Dumbledore was not ill intentioned, Harry decided. He knew the old man well enough to believe that Dumbledore did what seemed best. But that didn't mean that Harry had to agree with his decision and it didn't mean that Harry had to like it. Harry was more than a little mad at Dumbledore. The heart-to-heart in the Headmaster's Office had seemed so sincere and humble but that had not stopped Dumbledore from lying to aid his cause, perhaps at Harry's expense. Harry did not think well when he was angry; he was too emotional. This time, the anger was mixed with betrayal but there was also hope that he wouldn't have to fight Voldemort again. And somewhere under those feelings, there was also the love he had for the Weasleys and Hermione and Remus and Sirius and all the other people in the Order that had been with him a long time, had treated him like family. Harry was in a confusing place: caught between ideals and affections. On the one hand, he could never think of betraying the people he cared about... on the other hand, he was learning that he didn't approve of some of the things that Dumbledore and the Order stood for. If only he could think... but he was angry and all he could do was feel... logic would have to wait.

Harry didn't pay much attention in his classes for the final week. His only success was in apparating from Eyrie's Edge to Brocksett and back. Normally it wouldn't have been possible because of anti-apparition wards but the professor had lent Harry an amulet that the wards recognized and allowed him to pass through. The device was probably impressive and useful magic but Harry couldn't bring himself to care. He was so distracted that he very nearly splinched himself twice and he did miscast once, landing him thirty meters too far and only barely inside the wards in Brocksett. The professor wouldn't or couldn't tell Harry how far it was from Eyrie's Edge to Brocksett but he did assure Harry that the Ministry exam would be no more difficult than that. After school on Friday, the last day for Hogwarts students and the last night before the Hogwarts Express, Harry was invited over to the Black family home for supper but he declined. He was feeling guilty about his time in Eyrie's Edge. It seemed like a betrayal of the people he cared about. Rather than sparking a hatred of Dumbledore, finding out that he didn't know the real prophecy had caused Harry to look at his own actions and thoughts negatively. He found himself looking forward to getting back to Hogwarts, to being around people who he knew and trusted. He had a small supper, packed the last of his school things, asked Cedar to wake him up at dawn, and went to sleep thinking that the Hogwarts Express couldn't come soon enough.

//-//-//-//-//-//-

Harry woke up to Aly crooning from a perch on his bedpost. The sun was just peaking over the horizon and the room was still dark. In that light, Aly gave off a warm, comforting glow. Harry smiled and stroked her warm feathers while he read the short letter.

_Mr. Potter,_

_My lord submits that the attacks were part of his war strategy. More than that, I cannot say. I expect you hear that too often for your liking but I hope you will understand._

_One last bit of information you may be interested in: we were not able to get one of our people hired for the Defense Professorship. I believe you know the woman who was hired to teach Muggle Studies, however. I must say that I certainly don't approve but Dumbledore is not someone I routinely agree with so that should come as no surprise._

_This will be my last letter for a while. Once you are back among your friends, I doubt you'll even notice._

_Until next time._

Harry found himself sighing over the promise that the letters and Aly's visits would no longer be a weekly occurrence. He dropped the note on the bedside table and offered Aly his arm. The two then went down to the kitchen where Harry got an apple. No sooner had he found a paring knife than Cedar appeared.

"Master Harry is not fixing breakfast! Cedar is good elf!" she said firmly.

Harry didn't bother with protests after two months with Cedar. He simply handed over the knife and asked her to bring the apple and a bowl of oatmeal to the porch. Then Harry and Aly went to sit on the porch and watch the sunrise. It was peaceful and beautiful and, though Harry knew that he had a better summer than he ever could have had on Privet Drive, the fact that he was enjoying himself as he betrayed his friends made him feel guilty. When Aly finished eating, she sat on Harry's lap and sang softly, apparently in an effort to cheer Harry up. Soon, Harry sent the phoenix home and went inside. He got dressed and finished packing.

When Electra arrived, she frowned at Harry's demeanor and his clothing. The boy was clearly depressed and dressed like the abused teenager he was.

"Are you alright?" she asked him.

"Yeah, fine," he said absently.

She rolled her eyes but he didn't notice. "Let me rephrase the question," she said. "It is obvious that you are not alright so, would you like to share what's bothering you?"

"No," Harry answered.

"OK," Electra said with a sigh. "Then I suppose you wish to leave."

Harry nodded and led the way down the steps and across the lawn. They had to walk to the edge of the wards before they could leave. Luckily, Harry's home was one of the outermost in the town so their walk would be short.

"Before we do, I want you to promise that if you need help, you'll come find Regulus or myself... and don't wait until it's unbearable. I don't want you to get so badly hurt again."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Harry replied.

Electra reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "Harry, 'whatever' is not the answer I'm looking for. We care about you, my husband and I. Regulus wanted to be here too but he suspected you would be feeling badly and he didn't trust himself to let you leave. We wish you didn't have to return to the people who mistreated you but we know that you do so we'll have to settle for making sure that you understand that you can come back here any time you need or want to."

When Harry didn't meet her eyes, she gently raised his chin until he looked at her.

"Do you understand?"

"Yeah," Harry said quietly.

"Then we can leave. Oh, but first, do you know how to cast a Notice-Me-Not on that ring of yours? I don't want you to ever take it off but if Dumbledore sees it, he'll know you have a safe-house somewhere."

Harry looked frightened for a moment, then shook his head.

Electra patted his back gently in a wasted effort to get him to relax. "Get your wand," she said, then waited for him to take it out of his bag. "The spell is _Dissimulo Celo_. Say it and tap you ring lightly with the tip of your wand."

Harry did as she had instructed and watched as the ring seemed for a moment to sink into his skin before it appeared again. Confused, he looked questioningly at Electra.

"Well done," she said, confusing him further. She smiled. "You should still be able to see it because you cast the spell but the rest of us won't notice anything there."

Harry examined the ring again and shrugged. "Ok. Can we get going now?"

"Yes," she said, wrapping her left arm around Harry's shoulders and gripping her wand with her right. "Stay close. I'm going to apparate us to the edge of Little Whinging."

Before Harry could even nod, Electra had cast the spell and the familiar squeeze of apparition surrounded them as they disappeared from the valley and appeared in a deserted alley in Little Whinging. Harry opened his bag and took out his invisibility cloak.

"We'll see you soon, Harry." She pressed a sealed letter into his hand, then continued. "If Dumbledore demands to know where you went this summer, give him this. It explains that you needed a healer and you found me. It does not mention my surname or my location. You may say that you stayed with me all summer because I was not comfortable returning you to an abusive situation."

"Thank you," Harry said.

Electra hesitated for a moment but then hugged Harry warmly. It made her sad that he seemed confused by it and clearly didn't know how to react to such affections. After a moment, she let him go and stepped back, drew her wand, and disapparated.

As soon as she was gone, Harry felt dangerously alone. He wrapped his cloak around his body and made sure he was completely invisible before leaving the alley and getting his bearings. He began walking at a brisk pace in the direction of Privet Drive. Just as he turned down that street, the Dursleys' car passed him going the other direction. Harry threw up his invisible hands in irritation. He would be locked out and would have to spend the morning in the yard.

For more than an hour, Harry sat invisibly on the front stoop. Then, he took off his invisibility cloak and lay down in the grass to read Headmistress Vablatsky's Divination book (the only one he could reach without taking his trunk out of his magic bag). Two hours later, Harry had finished what had been left to read and returned it to his bag. He then occupied himself with pacing. Finally, he heard the door to the house open and saw the gray head of Remus Lupin peak out and look around warily.

When he saw Harry on the front lawn, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Harry?" he asked.

"Yeah, Prongs Jr. and all that," Harry replied, impatient to prove his identity so Remus would stop looking at him like that.

Remus stepped outside and crossed the lawn to Harry, still looking cautious. "What did Minerva tell Umbridge during your career advice meeting last year?"

"Umm, that she'd help me to become an auror," Harry replied.

Remus relaxed and smiled. "Now what were you doing outside?"

Harry shrugged. "The Dursleys thought if I wasn't inside then you wouldn't have to go in at all."

Remus sighed. "I'm sorry you had to stay with them but it really was the safest place. Anyway, I think you know everyone that came with me today," he said gesturing to the three other Order members that had left the house behind him. "Hestia Jones, Dedalus Diggle, and, though you might not be able to tell, the one that looks like Kingsley Shacklebolt is actually Tonks."

Harry smiled half-heartedly at them before turning back to Remus. "Are we portkeying then?"

Remus nodded and pulled a crushed aluminum can from the pocket of his shabby robes.

Hestia checked her wristwatch and jumped. "We'd best hurry, Remus. Just four seconds left."

Everyone hurried to place a finger on the rubbish. Immediately, the familiar tug behind the navel occurred and Harry was spinning away with the four older wizards and the can. When they landed, they all crashed to the floor and heavy objects fell around them. It took a moment before Harry realized that this was because they had landed in a room of lost luggage at the train station. Harry climbed to a clear space by the door and waited as Hestia, Dedalus, and Remus helped extricate Tonks from the mess. After a few minutes, during which time, Harry briefly entertained the idea of going ahead without them, the Order members finally prepared themselves for the walk to Platform 9 ¾.

Remus insisted on going through the door first and he was followed closely by Hestia. Once they cleared the dark and dusty alley between the lost luggage room and the ticket counter, they motioned for the others to follow and the group made their way out into the station. As they walked towards the platform, Harry felt utterly ridiculous. He didn't need the guard and if he did, they shouldn't have made it so obvious that they were guarding him. He could feel the looks the muggle passengers were giving them, wondering what sort of important person would have such strange bodyguards.

When they finally crossed the barrier and stepped onto the wizards' platform, Harry sighed with relief. At least the people here knew why he had guards and were used to it. He looked around for Ron and Hermione and spotted them right away. He tried to pass Remus to go see them but he was stopped.

"Stay close, Harry," Remus warned.

Harry ground his teeth together but complied.

Remus pushed a small wrapped present into Harry's hand. "Happy Birthday." Then, he led all them towards the Weasleys.

"Hello, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said with a bright smile.

"Hi, Harry," Ginny said at the same time.

"Hey," Harry replied.

"Harry, mate, you made it," Ron said.

"You look good, Harry," Hermione said, looking him over.

"Hermione," Ron cautioned.

Ginny giggled. "Relax, Ron. A girl can look... Hermione won't touch."

"Really, Ron," Hermione assured him.

Mrs. Weasley pulled Harry aside. "Harry, you have your key and supply lists, right?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Actually, I ordered my supplies. I have everything I need. Thanks for offering to help me though," Harry replied.

"Oh," she said. "Professor Dumbledore said you would need... well, no matter. We missed you this summer. I'm glad you look healthy anyways."

Harry just nodded and allowed Mrs. Weasley to push him back towards his friends.

"How was your summer, Harry?" Ginny asked.

"OK. How was yours?"

"It was nice, I guess. I helped Fred and George in their shop. They're doing great. The stuff they can do is amazing. Apparently, Filch has already banned all of their products," Ginny replied with an easy smile.

"What about you Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Oh, I spent the first half of the summer on vacation with my parents in France. After that, I stayed with the Weasleys. I had to send Hedwig on to Hogwarts for the summer but Dobby promised to take care of her. I tried to send you a letter but Dumbledore said your wards blocked mail."

Harry scowled. He wasn't pleased that Hedwig had been without human contact all summer. "Oh," he managed to say.

"Yeah," Ron interjected. "Hermione had a great summer," he said sarcastically. "She nagged us about homework the whole time."

"Not the whole time," Hermione protested. "Only until you finished."

"Enough you two. Anyway, Harry, we didn't have much to do, really. I mean, we were stuck inside unless we went with the twins to their shop and we didn't get to go to meetings, you know. You probably know more than we do about what happened this summer," Ginny said, trying to avoid an outburst like Harry had had last year.

Harry didn't say anything, unsure whether to feel annoyed or pleased that his friends were trying to mind his feelings.

After a minute of awkward silence, Hermione hastily changed the subject. "So Harry, how'd you do on OWLs?"

"Fine. I got seven."

"Hermione got eleven," Ron teased.

"That's right," she said loftily.

"I got seven," Ron told Harry.

Harry nodded and smiled weakly. Turning to Remus, he asked, "Can we get on the train yet?"

"Not yet, Harry. Wait another five minutes, at least."

Harry sighed and turned back to his friends.

"Hey, Harry. Why don't you open our presents to you," Ginny suggested, motioning for Hermione to get it from her trunk.

Hermione passed over two parcels. The first proved to be a blank, muggle journal that the girls guaranteed was not enchanted. The second was a bright orange Chudley Cannons hat which was obviously from Ron. The last one, the present from Remus, was the Black family tapestry.

When Harry bowed his head over the last, Ginny put an arm around his waist and Hermione patted his shoulder. He really would have preferred not being touched just then. These girls didn't know the half of what he was feeling and even if they had, he certainly didn't need them hanging all over him in the middle of a train station.

"Starting a harem, Potter?" Harry heard from behind.

"Move along Mr. Malfoy," Remus said threateningly.

Draco Malfoy stuck his nose in the air, sneered at Harry, and kept right on walking down the platform, Crabbe and Goyle in tow and none of their parents anywhere in sight.

He shrugged the girls off and tucked the gifts into his bag.

"Thanks," he said.

"You're welcome," Ginny said. Hermione nodded her acknowledgement and Ron turned back to look at the train.

A bell rang from the direction of the train engine, giving a three-minute warning, and the other students remaining on the platform finished their goodbyes and boarded. When the steam whistle blew, Remus nodded to the teens and the Order guards walked them across the platform to the nearest train car.

"Bye Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Harry. Behave yourselves, all of you, and don't forget to speak with the Headmaster if you have any concerns," Mrs. Weasley shouted over the noise of the engine.

"Let's get onboard before we miss the train," Hermione said, smiling and saying goodbye to Mrs. Weasley and Professor Lupin before hauling her trunk up the stairs and then stepping up onto the train after it.

Ron followed immediately, shouting "Bye, Mum," over his shoulder.

Ginny hugged her mother and followed after him.

Harry smiled and said goodbye to Mrs. Weasley and to Remus before climbing aboard the train. He hurried to catch up with his friends as they searched for an empty compartment. They eventually found one with only a single first year in it. Harry recognized him from the village school: Hector Pritchard.

"Hi, kid," Ron said, "can we..."

"My name's Hector, not 'kid'," the boy growled.

"He didn't mean anything by it," Hermione explained hurriedly. "Do you mind if we sit here, Hector?"

Hector scowled. "I should go find some other secon...first years. Do what you want in here." Then, Hector left.

"Well then", Hermione said, frowning in the boy's wake.

"Probably a Slytherin," Ron muttered.

Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Harry all took seats in the compartment.

"We have to go to the prefects' meeting but we'll be back when it's finished," Hermione told Harry.

"Yeah, OK," Harry replied. He hadn't even realized that Ginny was a prefect until she left with them. Alone in the compartment, he stood and put on his robes, tucking his wand in its pocket for easy access, and then sat back down to watch out the window as the train rolled and rocked on its way north.

While Harry waited for his friends to return, he was visited briefly by Luna, then Neville, then Susan Bones. None stayed long. In fact, it seemed they only wished to say hello and see how Harry was. Harry didn't mind.

Finally, he heard Ron, Hermione, and Ginny coming up the corridor from the front of the train.

"Can you believe Fudge is still Minister?" Hermione was saying when she, Ron, and Ginny returned from the prefect's meeting.

"At least he got rid of those educational decrees," Ron said.

"Yeah, but I mean, the Headmaster's been trying to get someone better but the closest he's come is convincing Amelia Bones to announce her interest..."

"Which she never even did," Ginny added.

"Right. After the assassination attempt, I don't know but I think Professor Dumbledore might have to take the job himself."

"No way," Ron said. "Dumbledore'd never leave Hogwarts."

"Hey guys," Harry interrupted.

"Hey Harry. Is that kid back yet?" Ron asked.

"Hector, Ron. Not kid," Hermione snapped. "And he's obviously not here."

The three prefects sat on the benches and made themselves comfortable.

"So, mate, Dumbledore said you might want to practice occlumency with me, now that I can do it."

Harry scowled. "I don't think so. I'm rather hopeless anyways." He did not want Ron's help.

"Nonsense, Harry," Hermione said. "Practice makes perfect, you know."

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "I didn't get it at first, and man do I know what you mean about Snape. When he started using my fear of spiders, searching for them in my memories... you can believe I got him out of there as quick as I could."

"Did you?" Harry asked without emotion.

"Hey mate, I'm not just a pretty face, you know."

"Ron, we should really take our turn patrolling the corridors," Hermione said, attempting to spare Harry Ron's tactless boasts.

"We've got another ten minutes, Hermione," Ginny said, moving a bit closer to Harry.

Harry looked at Ginny for a moment, confused, then turned back to Ron and Hermione and changed the subject. "How's your family, Ron?"

"Oh, fine. Bill's engaged to Fleur Delacour now and the way Mum carries on, you'd think he'd chosen a goblin."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "You're just as bad but that's only because you're jealous. Anyway, you know the twins are doing well with their shop. And Charlie's coming home. He's part of a team that the Romanians are sponsoring so Charlie's going to split his time between the Welsh Green preserve and the Hebridean Black preserve."

"He's studying mate choice and selective breeding," Hermione interrupted excitedly. "It must be fascinating."

"Yeah, sure. About as interesting as cauldron bottom thickness," Ron said.

Hermione huffed at him and turned up her nose.

"Oh yeah," Ginny said, less enthusiastically. "And then there's Percy who's still a great git."

"He hasn't apologized to your parents yet?" Harry asked.

"No," Ginny replied.

Harry wondered if Percy was the Prewett relative that wanted to rent the house in Eyrie's Edge.

There was a knock on the compartment door. "Granger, Weasleys, it's your turn in the corridors," someone called.

All three of them stood. "We'll be back soon, Harry," Hermione said as they left.

Harry sighed and returned to looking out the window.

They returned when the announcement was made about getting dressed and preparing to disembark. They already wore their robes but they all got their hats and Hermione tucked a book under her arm in case she wanted to read at any time between then and the return to Gryffindor Tower for the night. As soon as the train stopped, they piled out of the compartment and joined the queue at the car door.

Harry climbed down off the train, following Ron, Hermione, and Ginny as they left Hogsmeade station and searched out the line of waiting carriages. He nearly ran into them when they stopped suddenly to stare.

"They really aren't horse-less," Hermione whispered.

Harry cringed. It was Sirius' death they had seen. He put and hand on Hermione's shoulder and pushed her gently forward. "Let's get a carriage," he said.

She tore her eyes away from the thestrals and nodded.

The ride up the hill to Hogwarts was a silent one. When they finally reached Hogwarts, they gave the thestrals one sad look over their shoulder and went inside. "That's war, I suppose," Hermione muttered.

As Harry crossed the threshold of the Great Hall, he heard the cheerful Dumbledore stand and address him. "Ah, Harry!"

The old man turned to the professor on his right. "Pomona, we'll just be a minute."

Turning back to Harry, he continued. "Right this way, my boy," he said, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder and steering him along the wall to a side door. When they stood in a moonlit courtyard with the door to the Hall closed behind them, Dumbledore said, "Harry, I'm pleased to see you looking so healthy and happy. I knew you could work out your problems with your family. I'm proud of you."

Harry bowed his head to keep Dumbledore from seeing his scowling face. That man had some nerve calling the abuse 'your problems.' Harry almost took Electra's letter out to give to Dumbledore but he stopped himself. It seemed that Dumbledore didn't know about how Harry had spent his summer so there was no reason to fill him in.

When it became clear that Harry had nothing to say, Dumbledore continued. "We should get back inside before the Sorting starts but I want you to know that you can come talk to me any time, about anything."

Harry nodded. "OK." Privately, he was scoffing at the idea. His trust of the old man was at an all-time low since the prophecy deception had come to light.

"Excellent," Dumbledore said, opening the door and leading Harry back inside. But just before Harry broke away to go to the Gryffindor table, Dumbledore stopped him.

"Oh, Harry, what evening would be good for you to study the animagus spell with Professor McGonagall?"

Harry frowned. What could he answer? "Umm... I think... I mean, maybe... I think I want to wait and see how difficult my classes are before I start any extra lessons."

"I'm sure you won't have any trouble."

"I still think I shouldn't be adding work when I don't know how much I'll already have," he said, hoping Dumbledore would accept his excuse.

"Well, alright. When you change your mind," he said with a smile, "just let Professor McGonagall or myself know and we'll make the arrangements."

"I will," Harry replied. "Can I go find Ron and Hermione now?"

"Yes, my boy. Run along."

Harry had already turned away and started walking. He only relaxed once he was seated comfortably beside Hermione.

"I can't believe Dumbledore chose Trelawney over Firenze," Hermione was complaining.

"What do you care?" Ron asked. "You're not even in Divination.

"Neither are you if you don't want to be," Hermione snapped. "I care because Hogwarts is the best school of magic in Europe and it should have the best professors."

Harry looked along the head table for unfamiliar faces. Hagrid was there, having already brought the first years across the lake. McGonagall would be with them now. Firenze was indeed absent and Trelawney looked better than she had at the Leaving Feast the previous year. There were two new faces, an unknown witch and Mrs. Figg. Harry assumed one of them must be the Defense professor and did a quick assessment to see who else was missing. He realized that the old Muggle Studies professor was gone, Barrett or Bennett or something.

The Sorting Hat began its song and Harry was distracted from his thoughts. As in the previous year, the hat warned the houses to stand together. It begged them to learn from each other and help each other. Harry wondered for the first time how sentient the hat was and how much it did besides sorting first years. Harry was lost in thought as the eleven-year-olds were sorted. He clapped whenever he saw Ron do the same but his mind was elsewhere.

Eventually, he heard Dumbledore introducing the new faculty and brought his mind back to the present.

"Welcome, everyone, to another promising year at Hogwarts. I would like to introduce two new members of the staff. Professor Figg, who will be teaching Muggle Studies," he paused to allow Arabella Figg her meager applause, then continued. "And Professor Burke, who will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Harry was surprised to see his old babysitter, a squib, at the head table but he supposed that a squib was probably highly qualified to teach Muggle Studies, having grown up in the wizarding world and then had to learn to live in the Muggle world.

After another moment of faint applause, Dumbledore said, "And now, let's eat."

Food appeared and everyone occupied themselves with eating and a bit of chatting.

After supper, Dumbledore made his usual speech regarding rules, including a new, stricter curfew and a pair of regulations about being accompanied by a professor whenever outside after dark or beyond the castle grounds at any time, including Hogsmeade weekends.

When they were finally released to head to their dorms, Harry was quite pleased to escape to the comfort of Gryffindor Tower. He unpacked his bag and got ready for bed. He was the first into bed but the last to fall asleep. The Tower was much louder and more crowded than he remembered.


	10. Start of Term

"Up, Harry! It's time for breakfast. We let you sleep as long as we could," Ron said, shaking Harry's shoulder lightly.

Harry awoke wishing for his comfortable bed in Eyrie's Edge again. Knowing that there was nothing for it, he dismissed the thought and scowled at Ron instead. He sighed and crawled out of bed to get dressed. Ron, ever impatient when it came to food, hurried him along. Harry was still buttoning his robes as Ron practically dragged him out of the dormitory and down the stairs to meet Hermione in the common room. Once Ron had Hermione around, he abandoned Harry's arm to latch onto Hermione's hand. Harry was all too happy that their morning greetings left him to his own devices. He lagged behind silently as they made their way down to the Great Hall.

At the doors, Hermione turned around and shouted, "Hurry up, Harry. This is a working breakfast, you know. Professor McGonagall needs to meet with us about our schedules."

Harry reluctantly trotted to catch up and then the three went into the hall, grabbed whatever they could eat while walking, and returned to Gryffindor Tower to join the queue in front of their Head of House's office door. Harry spaced out a bit while they were waiting and it took a sharp nudge from Parvati Patil for Harry to notice that it was his turn. Ron and Hermione had evidently taken their turns and left without Harry noticing.

Harry stepped into the office.

"Close the door behind you and have a seat, Mr. Potter."

Harry did as he was told. Once he was seated across the laden desk from Professor McGonagall, she picked up a quill and began filling in a blank schedule.

"Congratulations on qualifying for NEWT-level Potions. You qualified for Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Defense against the Dark Arts, Divination, Herbology, Potions, and Transfiguration. I'll sign you up for Charms, Potions, Defense, and Transfiguration which are all required for auror training. You are also enrolled in History, which is mandatory. You must select at least one of the others, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and Herbology."

"I'd like to take all of them, I think."

"Even Divination?" McGonagall asked, one eyebrow raised in disbelief or disapproval.

"Yes, Ma'am," Harry replied.

"You certainly don't need it to be an auror, and quite frankly, no one really needs the rubbish course."

"I'm not sure I want to be an auror anymore," Harry said, which was as close as he was going to get to admitting that he wasn't sure if he wanted to fight Death Eaters.

"Why not?" McGonagall asked, worried.

The prophecy Dumbledore had told him sprang to mind immediately and it took some effort to keep his anger at being lied to from his face. "Professor Dumbledore told me some things at the end of last year and... well, it seems that I could easily die before I would even have a chance to finish auror training. I know it would help keep me alive, but, what if it doesn't help and I die anyways? And besides, I don't really care about revenge anymore. I don't need to avenge my parents' or Sirius' death. I guess I wish everyone would just leave me out of the war."

McGonagall was stunned into silence for a long moment. "Harry, you don't actually think that you're going to die soon, do you?"

"It's probable, isn't it?"

"I don't know about probable, but whether it is or not, that doesn't mean you shouldn't plan on living."

"From what Dumbledore said, it was pretty obvious that I have a good chance of dying sooner rather than later. And even if I did manage to kill Voldemort, other people would come after me because of it. I really don't want to fight," he said. It was mostly true. He wouldn't really mind fighting and he would have loved revenge on Bellatrix for Sirius' death but she was beyond his reach. About his parents, he really didn't know what to think yet.

"What did the Headmaster say that gave you that idea?" she asked, wide-eyed.

Harry didn't know what to say to that. He could tell her what Dumbledore had said and she might recognize the prophecy or not know the prophecy. In the case of the latter, that would leave Harry to choose between telling her it wasn't true and coming up with a reason he knew that or letting her believe it was true and either coddle him or push him to train harder.

"Mr. Potter?"

"I'm sorry, Professor," he said quickly. "I don't think I'm supposed to say."

"Nonsense. I've been in the Order of the Phoenix since before you were born," she said.

"He said not to tell anyone except maybe Ron and Hermione... but I don't want them to know," Harry replied, looking at his hands to hide his pleas that she would let the subject go.

After a moment, she said, "Well then, you want to take eight classes." Harry heard the papers rustle and her quill scratch. "Normally, I don't recommend more than seven NEWT courses to the average student. Are you sure you don't want to drop one?"

Harry looked at her and bit his lip. He was still thinking that it might be a good idea to avoid Care of Magical Creatures if the curriculum was going to be dangerous.

"Do you know what Hagrid is planning to teach this year? I've been thinking that, as much as I like Hagrid, I really don't want to see anything like the Blast-Ended Skrewts again."

"Oh," she said, "I thought you would want to keep that class. No matter. I do not know what creatures Professor Hagrid has selected for the year but I would not dismiss you concerns as invalid."

Harry thought for a moment. He was still on the fence about taking Care of Magical Creatures. "Are Ron and Hermione taking it?"

"Mr. Potter, it is my policy never to inform students of what their classmates are taking since that is a poor reason to take or drop a class," she lectured.

Harry sighed. "I don't know. I guess I'll drop it."

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather drop Divination?"

"Yes. I'm actually interested in that again. I mean, I learned so much once I had a professor besides Trelawney... err, meaning all proper respect, of course."

McGonagall gave a tiny smile of understanding. "But Professor Trelawney is teaching again this year," she pointed out.

"I know. This time, I think I understand enough to get by though."

"Alright. So you are taking Charms, Defense against the Dark Arts, Divination, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, and Transfiguration.

Harry nodded.

She made the last few marks on his schedule and then passed it over.

"Send the next person in please, Mr. Potter."

Harry rose from his chair and left, sending Parvati in after him. He threw himself into an empty armchair by the fire and looked over his schedule. He had an hour until his first class. Looking around, he saw Ron and Hermione coming towards him.

"So, mate, what classes are we in?" Ron asked.

Harry passed his schedule wordlessly to Hermione.

Hermione gasped. "Harry, you aren't in Care of Magical Creatures."

"And you're taking Divination?" Ron asked incredulously.

"I'd rather hear about impending death than walk a Blast-Ended Skwert," Harry replied calmly.

"But Hagrid will be so disappointed," Hermione said.

"And why not just drop Divination like I did?" Ron asked.

"Because this is what I decided to do. So what classes do we have?" he said.

Hermione frowned and compared their courses. "You and I got potions together. We're all in the same session of History of Magic. You and Ron have the same Herbology and Defense classes," she said.

"Is that all?" Ron asked.

"Clearly, Ron. You're reading the same pages as me and that's what they say," Hermione snapped. After a moment, she sighed. "Sorry, Ron. I didn't mean to be short with you."

She handed Harry back his schedule. Harry looked it over again. He had thought he would have more classes with his friends, just like last year. He sighed and tucked the parchment into his robe pocket and stood up. "I'm going to visit Hedwig," he told Ron and Hermione.

"OK. See you in History," Hermione said.

The walk to the owlery was quiet. Everyone but the sixth years and a few seventh years were in lessons. Harry spent a long time sitting with his owl, apologizing for sending her away for the summer and for Hermione sending her to Hogwarts. She was not pleased with him. When he left for his first class, she was still angry but at least she allowed him to touch her.

Harry caught a nice nap during History that morning. Afterwards, he and Ron went to Defense class while Hermione went to Ancient Runes. Professor Burke, they discovered, did know her stuff. The problem: the students had entered the classroom to find that they had been provided with various devices to translate the many languages the professor used. She explained, via these devices, that she had been hit with an extremely complex curse four years prior that caused everything she said to come out in a mixture of languages. Fortunately, this did not affect her magical ability and she was certainly capable of Defense. The first lesson was only a review of what they should have learned in their first five years but it was painfully obvious that Professor Burke had high standards. The DA could probably meet those expectations but other students would have to struggle to catch up.

The rest of Harry's classes that first day held no surprises. He could not say the same about his friends. Ron and Hermione were apparently together, though that hadn't really changed the way they related to Harry. At least they weren't bickering constantly. Ginny, who was quite busy with OWL year homework already, still managed to be around whenever Harry looked up.

The second day of classes was a bit bizarre. Harry had sixth year Divination with Lavender, Parvati, and two Hufflepuff girls.

"What an excellent turn out," Trelawney had said before telling everyone to pull out their copies of _Putting your Gifts to Use; the Inner Eye_ and sending them all to get tea so they could read their tea leaves regarding the coming year.

Harry pulled the new text and both of Headmistress Vablatsky's books out. Just as he had learned over the summer, he drank his tea, drew the appropriate runes, stirred the leaves, and drained the cup. Meanwhile, Professor Trelawney made her rounds among the students. Lavender and Parvati were both promised suitors though Harry doubted anything but the fork (false flattery) and the owl (gossip) were actually in those cups. The blond Hufflepuff was cautioned that the great goals she was striving towards would not come without difficulties. The other Hufflepuff was told that the minor setbacks she was facing would not be permanent but impatience would not help. When she got to Harry, Harry read the leaves over her shoulder.

"Ah, well done, Mr. Potter. I see you have learned the runes. As you are the only one in this class without the Inner Eye, you may need to learn more of those little helpers," she said. "Now, then... I see the axe at the top, over coming difficulties; there is also the anchor inverted, inconsistency; and there is a bird which often means good news but in this case, it feels as though it wishes to be taken literally."

Harry was pleased with the reading. For once, Trelawney seemed to know what she was looking at. Maybe it had something to do with NEWT level and having students who were actually interested or maybe it was the extra help of the runes Harry had added. Either way, Harry could find no fault with her reading. Harry hoped he would be spared the traditional death omens this term. Later, Ron and Hermione would not believe Harry when he said Divination wasn't too bad.

In the afternoon, Harry and Hermione went to Potions. Snape was just as cruel as usual but at least Harry had the general idea of the potion they were taking notes on thanks to Professor Snape's book. As usual, Snape had it in for Harry anyways. Harry had to stay after class where Snape gave him a detention for the following evening and then cast Legilimens unexpectedly. Harry was unable to defend his mind as Snape grabbed at the memories of the first week of Harry's summer. After seeing three of Dudley's beatings, Snape withdrew and sneered at Harry.

"Incompetent as usual, Potter. Ten points from Gryffindor. Now get out!" he said.

Harry eagerly obeyed, finding Hermione waiting for him in the hall.

"What did he want?" she asked.

"To give me detention with Filch and to use Legilimency on me. I've got a terrible headache now."

"Is he going to give you lessons again?" she asked hopefully.

"No. He just wanted to show me that I'm rubbish at everything."

"That's not true. And why isn't he giving you lessons?"

"I don't know, and I don't care either. I don't plan on giving him any more chances in my head if I can avoid it."

"But you need to learn Occlumency, Harry."

"Yeah. I also need a headache remedy," he snapped. Her shrieking was not helping. He left her and went to get the relevant potion from Madam Pomfrey. He took one dose immediately and kept a second to take after supper. He knew he would need it after the beating his brain had taken from Snape.

With his free period, Harry went to the library, which was pleasantly quiet, and did some homework. He also searched the section of books on non-magical birds in an effort to identify his animagus form. He leafed through three volumes of _Mundane Creatures of Britain_, a series of books found in the potions section that detailed potentially useful parts of various local animals, before he found a bird that looked similar but was the wrong color and a bit too small. Still, it was a start. He choose a book on predatory local birds, shelved in the Magical Creatures section, and found what he was looking for on page 47, illustration B: the Golden Eagle. Harry now realized how silly he had been not to recognize it before. Granted the birds on the Ravenclaw crests were rather stylized, but it was still odd that he hadn't noticed the resemblance between his bird self and the Ravenclaw mascot before.

Closing the book and returning it to the shelf, Harry checked his watch and decided he had just enough time for a flight outside before supper. He took his belongings back to his dormitory and then went outside. He chose a secluded area on the far side of the lake to change, then stayed over the forest and farthest half of the lake, hoping no one would spot him. When it was nearly supper, he landed, transformed back, and headed happily inside. The flight might not have helped his headache but it had at least cleared his head.

As Harry was crossing the grounds, he heard thundering footsteps behind him.

"Harry, Harry," Hagrid called as he hurried to catch up.

"Hi, Hagrid," Harry replied cheerfully.

"How've yeh been?"

"Fine. What about you?"

"Ah, I'm alrigh'. Grawpy's better too."

"That's good, I suppose," Harry said with a weak smile.

"I was a mite disappointed tha' yeh didn' take my class this term," Hagrid said, frowning.

"I'm sorry, Hagrid. I'm sure it's great and I'm missing out on some fun assignments," Harry said.

"Tha' yeh are. But Harry, I though' yeh and yer friends would take it for sure."

"Sorry, Hagrid. It's not like we all planned to drop it. I guess we all just decided we had a lot to do with NEWT classes and we couldn't take everything we wanted to."

"Ah, I guess tha's it then. Well, don' forget to come visit. I'm sure Fang is missin' yeh."

"Yeah, I'll stop by sometimes. I should go now though. I've got to go back to Gryffindor Tower before supper."

"Oh, well, I'll be seein' yeh then."

Harry hurried away from the disappointed half-giant. That had been an uncomfortable conversation, if an inevitable one.

By the end of supper, a noisy affair as usual, Harry desperately wanted his headache remedy and an early night. Instead, Draco Malfoy got between him and relief. The great prat and his two goons stopped Harry in the entrance hall after supper.

"So Potter, did you finally tire of your pathetic friends or is it that they tired of you. Either way, the Golden Trio has been down to two an awful lot lately."

"That's not true. Don't listen to him, Harry," Hermione said.

"Shut up, Mudblood," Malfoy snapped.

"Don't call her that!" Ron shouted. He had his wand out before Crabbe and Goyle could even make fists.

Draco had his own wand out and one eye on Ron but his attention was clearly still devoted to taunting Harry. "Or maybe, you're glad that Weasel is to busy having his way with Granger because it gives you a chance to go after his sister."

"_Impedi_..." Ron started to shout.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Flitwick chirped from the doors of the Great Hall. Ron's wand flew across the distance and into his hand. "Shameful, Disgraceful. Mr. Malfoy that will be three points from Slytherin for foul language and Mr. Weasley, ten points from Gryffindor for attempting to attack another student. Mr. Malfoy, move along."

When Malfoy and his Slytherins reluctantly disappeared down the stairs to the dungeons, Flitwick turned to Ron again. "Mr. Weasley, you may collect your wand from your Head of House this evening. You _must_ learn to control your temper. If I catch you attacking another student again, you will have to get your wand back from me - I won't just return it and I was a dueling champion in the days of my youth so you had best heed my warning."

Flitwick turned to go back into the Hall leaving a red-faced Ron blustering about Malfoy and being disarmed and anything else that irritated him. Harry sighed and left him to Hermione who was busy lecturing him on how right Flitwick was.

"You can't lose your head in a fight. Remember how Harry used to tell us that in DA and Professor Burke says it all the time..."

When they got back to the tower, Harry excused himself to his friends who gave him concerned looks.

"I just need to take the headache potion and go to bed," Harry explained.

"Maybe you should see Madam Pomfrey, mate," Ron advised.

"Yeah, you don't look well," Hermione agreed.

"She's the one who gave me the headache potions. I'll be fine in the morning."

"Alright. Goodnight, then."

"Yeah, night."

Harry got ready for bed, took the potion, and enjoyed a few hours of quiet before he was joined by his snoring roommates for the night.

Luckily, the rest of the week was relatively uneventful. Harry, Ron, and Hermione fell into their usual routine of classes, homework, and relaxation in the Common Room. Though Ginny had a lot of homework to do, she still managed to join them frequently. Harry wondered why she spent her free time with them and not with friends in her own year. He eventually figured it out, with much help from Hermione: Ginny had another crush on him and she wasn't going to be shy about it this time. Harry was a bit disturbed by this news. He didn't want to jeopardize his relationship with the Weasley family. He decided it would be best just to wait Ginny out and hope her crush dissipated soon.

//-//-//-//-

The Death Eaters were clearly lying low... so low, in fact, that the Daily Prophet filled the void in front-page news with increasingly questionable stories. One Tuesday in mid September, the Headline read, "British Man begins Six Month Search for Crumple-Horned Snoracks." Apparently, Mr. Lovegood had bankrolled a research expedition and it was the biggest news the Prophet could come up with. Luna was thrilled but the rest of the school only became more convinced that she deserved her nickname, "Loony Lovegood," and the Prophet was beginning to share that scorn. If it hadn't been for the war, most of the school, Hermione included, would probably have cancelled their subscriptions.

That week of classes ended with a bang when a particularly exciting demonstration in Defense led to the castle wards going into defensive mode and magically returning all the students to their house common rooms. Despite the confusion, the sixth years were still thrilled with their Defense professor.

"Professor Burke is just wonderful," Hermione said over supper that day. "Even with the language problem, she's easily the best professor we've had."

"What about Remus?" Harry said, frowning.

"Oh, well, he was good, too," Hermione replied dismissively.

"Burke's OK. I don't like having to read the lectures though," Ron said. He was one of several students that disliked the translation quills.

"What was so bad about Remus?" Harry challenged. No one would ever be better than Remus as far as Harry was concerned.

"Nothing in particular," Hermione said nonchalantly. "Professor Burke's just really knowledgeable and her assignments are properly challenging. That reminds me, Colin asked me the other day if we were going to start the DA again. What do you think, Harry?"

Harry glared at her. "I think that if our Defense professor is so grand then she can teach and I won't have to," he snapped before leaving his two friends behind.

"What was that all about?" Harry heard Ron ask Hermione before he was out of hearing range.

Harry knew he had been irrational and that made him feel guilty. That feeling led him to wonder if he shouldn't be spending what time he could with them, since the Order could find out about his summer at any moment and then he would lose his friends. That thought left Harry feeling guiltier and angrier than before. He decided abruptly to go visit Hagrid, whose class he had decided not to take primarily because he had learned Divination from a Death Eater, in an attempt to assuage his guilt and prove to himself that nothing was different. He walked quickly outside and down to Hagrid's hut where he knocked loudly on the door and waited.

He heard Fang bark from inside and Hagrid's booming voice yelled, "Fang, would yeh be quiet!?" Then Hagrid's large, hairy face appeared at the window. He smiled and disappeared again to open the door.

"Harry, good to see yeh! Come in!"

Harry stepped into the hut and took the seat Hagrid offered at the table.

"Yeh wan' a biscuit?" Hagrid asked, passing an oversized cup of tea to Harry.

"No, thank you," Harry replied setting the grungy tea down untouched

Harry and Hagrid talked about their classes for a while. Eventually, they exhausted that topic and Harry returned to the castle.

Once inside, he found Ron wandless and fuming about Malfoy again. Flitwick had had to break up another fight. Hermione and Harry did their best to distract Ron for the two hours that remained until Ron's detention. When he did leave, Hermione was relieved. He had distracted her from her studies and she had a lot of ground to make up.

An hour later, Harry and Hermione were still working on homework and waiting for Ron to return. Harry was nearly finished his Potions essay and Hermione had read two chapters, done a NEWT practice for Charms, and answered three short essay questions for Ancient Runes.

"Ron," Hermione suddenly exclaimed worriedly.

Harry looked up from his Potions essay to see a rather cowed Ron walking towards them.

"And I thought fighting Death Eaters was hard," he complained as he flopped into an empty seat beside Hermione.

"What did Flitwick do?" Hermione asked.

"He gave me my wand back and made me duel with him for five whole minutes. I mean, he was going easy but it was still really rough. After that, he told me I have potential as a duelist," he said proudly, "but that I have to learn to control my temper."

"Did you tell him how hard it is for you to control both your Occlumency and your temper when you're provoked?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. He said I would have to learn... but, and this is really great, Hermione... he offered to teach me."

"Professor Flitwick offered to teach you dueling?" Hermione gasped, clearly jealous.

"Yeah. I accepted right away. He was a champion and he said I could be great too."

"That's wonderful, Ron," Hermione exclaimed. "You are so lucky."

"Maybe. It's going to make lessons with Snape look like a Christmas party though."

"Still," Hermione said, "it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. I am so jealous."

"I wonder if I'll be any good. I really got trounced by Professor Flitwick but he's the best, right?"

"Yeah."

"So I'll be really good when he's finished training me, right?"

"I should think so."

Ron got a dreamy look on his face. "Ronald Weasley, dueling champion," he whispered.

"Now, Ron," Hermione cautioned, "don't count your chickens before they hatch."

"Right," he said. "A bloke can dream though."

"I suppose. How about dreaming up some homework then?" she said, thrusting a notebook and a Charms book at him.

"Aw, Hermione," Ron groaned. Then, a smile crossed his face. "It can wait," he said mischievously, pulling Hermione up out of her chair and across the room.

Harry sighed and returned to his potions essay. Those two were off to snog somewhere and he was stuck alone, writing an essay for Snape. He wrote a few more sentences and then cleaned up and went to talk to Hedwig instead. He knew he couldn't begrudge his friends their time alone as a couple but he was still lonely. It was an uncomfortable feeling, especially when he couldn't help but wonder if he would be feeling it a lot more often if they found out where he had spent his summer.

//-//-//-//-//-//-

Wednesday morning, the last week in September, the first Hogsmeade weekend was cancelled. It would have been that weekend but apparently there were security concerns to resolve. The notice on the Common Room notice board said only that in the future, the Hogsmeade visits would not be announced until the night before and new safety measures would be taken. This prompted Harry, Ron, and Hermione to go in search of information. Harry considered going to Dumbledore but he wasn't sure that the Headmaster would give him any information if Ron and Hermione were there with him. Besides, Ron and Hermione wanted to try getting the news out of Hagrid. On their way down to Hagrid's hut, they crossed paths with Ginny who claimed she needed a break from schoolwork and joined them.

"So, Hagrid, how is Grawp?" Hermione asked once they had been invited into Hagrid's hut and offered tea and rock cakes.

"He's doin' real good. Mightn't be able to understand full sentences, but he's gettin' there," Hagrid announced happily.

Ginny and Hermione proceeded to make small talk with Hagrid while Harry and Ron amused themselves with drinking tea and petting Fang. When the girls finally decided that they had had enough of the pleasantries, Hermione turned the discussion to more important things.

"Can you believe the Daily Prophet these days?" she asked.

"Well, yeh can't blame 'em if there jus' isn' enough happnin' to fill the paper," Hagrid said.

"But we're at war. Voldemort's back. There must be something going on," Ginny said.

"Tha's just the thin'," Hagrid said. "There isn'. Not since Madam Bones was attacked."

"What are the Death Eaters doing then?" Ron asked.

"Recruitin' and messin' around at the Ministry."

"But why aren't they attacking? Everyone knows Voldemort is back now," Hermione pointed out.

"It has something to do with Fudge, doesn't it?" Ginny asked.

"Yer not suppose' to know abou' that and yeh sure shouldn' be talkin' about it," Hagrid scolded.

"What? What about Fudge?" Harry asked.

Hagrid turned away and busied himself with making a new pot of tea rather than answer.

"I overheard Mum talking about Fudge. She was angry at someone in the Order because she thinks he's been bought by the Death Eaters," Ginny began.

"Yeah, and Professor Dumbledore said that Fudge wasn't taking sides at all," Ron added.

"But Mum thinks that's just as bad as supporting the Death Eaters," Ginny explained.

"Tha's enough o' tha'. If yeh came to see me to find ou' abou' Fudge then yeh can all go now," Hagrid said angrily.

"Oh, no, Hagrid," Hermione and Ginny hurried to assure the half-giant.

"We came down because we thought you could tell us about... ouch!" Ron said. Hermione had elbowed him in the side.

"Out with it. What'd yeh want?" Hagrid asked wearily.

"We really appreciate you telling us things, Hagrid. No one else tells us anything," Ginny said.

"Right. We really just came to see you," Hermione said.

"We love to hear about Grawp and Fang and your classes," Ginny said.

"Jus' ask whatever yeh came to ask," Hagrid said mostly kindly.

"Then why was the Hogsmeade visit cancelled?"

"And what are the new security measures?"

"Well the security's a secret but I expec' Dumbledore's worried abou' You Know Who an' all."

"You mean he thinks that Voldemort has been too busy planning a way to get at Harry to attack other people?" Ginny asked.

"Tha's true but it's the Slytherin's too," Hagrid said absently as he tried to give Fang a rock cake.

"The Slytherins wouldn't do anything, would they?" Harry asked.

"I wouldn't put anything past Malfoy," Ron said.

"Dumbledore was thinkin' tha' he mighn' let the Slytherins go to Hogsmeade a' all."

"Why would he do that?" Harry asked, surprised. "It wouldn't be fair."

"War isn't fair, Harry. Do you know how much our side has lost because of the Death Eaters? Mum lost her whole family, you lost your family, half the Order lost their lives in the first war. Remember Mum's boggart?" Ginny said.

"I know Ginny, but that doesn't mean the Slytherins should be forbidden from going to Hogsmeade," Harry insisted.

"Harry's right," Hermione said. "Think about it. If they were banned, it would look like discrimination and then it wouldn't even make the rest of us safer because there is no way that the rest of us could go to Hogsmeade without the Slytherins knowing and then, what's to keep the Death Eaters from attacking us while their own children are safe inside the Hogwarts wards?"

"Oh," Ginny said. "I see what you mean, I guess."

"Hey, wait!" Harry interjected. "Not all Slytherins are Death Eaters and not all Death Eaters are Slytherins. Remember Wormtail?"

"Well, right, but there are exceptions to every rule. I mean, none of the Gryffindors now would dare join the Death Eaters," Ginny said.

Harry was lucky that a racket outside the hut kept him from speaking his mind at that moment.

Hagrid sent them back to the castle and went off towards the clearing at the edge of the Forbidden Forest to tend to whatever unhappy creature he was keeping.

Harry was feeling angry and guilty after that. Without realizing it, he avoided Ginny for the rest of the week.


	11. Dumbledore

On the first day of October, Harry was again the target of a concerted effort to get him to start up the DA again. He must have heard from every member and only one seemed completely unconcerned about his answer. Luna claimed not to care either way as she could just as easily and contentedly spend her free time researching Toadenbeargens and Flutterdillys as she could attending DA meetings.

The whole situation got so bad that Colin and Dennis Creevey were on the receiving end of a pair of Full Body-Binds by the time they came to ask him about DA. As far as he was concerned, ending the barrage was worth the week of detentions he received from Professor McGonagall when she found the Creevey brothers. Harry would have two hours a day for five days entirely to himself as he tidied the library for Madam Pince.

Between the DA members, homework, a spat between Ron and Hermione that made being friends with them both a bit uncomfortable, and Ginny's pursuit of him, Harry was not in a good mood. Added on top of that was the fact that Malfoy was going out of his way to act like a prat to Harry and his friends. Harry's month was not off to a good start.

He reached his lowest point on Monday afternoon when he, Ron, and Hermione were sitting in the Common Room working on homework. Harry recognized a rune Hermione was having trouble finding in her reference book. While trying to be helpful, Harry accidentally referenced his Divination texts as being written by _Professor_ Vablatsky. Hermione called him on the error.

The best explanation Harry could come up with was, "Err, well, she wrote more than one book on the subject so, err, maybe she's a professor."

Luckily, Hermione had too much homework and not enough time because she looked for a moment as if she might press Harry on the matter but then merely returned to her homework.

Harry was cursing himself prolifically inside his head for several minutes after that. He waited what he thought was a reasonable length of time and then excused himself and fled. First, he thought he might visit the owlery but when he saw five first-year Hufflepuffs with fistfuls of letters chattering loudly heading up the stairs in that direction, he changed his mind. He went instead to the library. He quickly choose a book from the Quidditch section and was about to sit down and attempt to quiet his racing mind through reading when he spotted Ginny leaving the stacks. He was still of the opinion that avoidance was the best policy with regards to the youngest Weasley's affections so he reluctantly hurried to drop the book off in the Returns Bin and left the library. Lacking direction but still really needing a way to calm himself down, Harry wandered.

He was still wandering when Hannah Abbott and Michael Corner found him muttering to himself near the entrance to the kitchens.

"Harry, are you ok?" Hannah asked, passing Michael a pile of library books she had been carrying in order to rest a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Fine, fine," he said absently.

Hannah scoffed at him.

"Perhaps this is fine for Harry Potter but I'd like to point out that the rest of us consider pacing the corridors and talking to oneself to be highly questionable," Michael said.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Hannah asked.

Harry stopped pacing and looked at her. Seeing only concern on the Hufflepuff DA member's face, he sighed and said, "I slipped and mentioned something I shouldn't have to Hermione and I'm worried she'll look into it."

"What?" Michael asked confusedly.

"I said_ Professor_ Vablatsky," Harry explained.

"So? We all slip up once in a while. People just dismiss it, like we haven't been sleeping enough or were trying to do too many things at once while talking to them," Michael told him.

"Not Hermione," Harry insisted, wringing his hands nervously. "She lives to solve mysteries like that."

"Don't worry about it. She can do all the research she wants in the library and she won't find anything," Michael said.

Harry looked at his feet and shook his head. He knew Hermione could find things that no one else could.

"Harry," Hannah said gently, "is everything ok besides that?"

"Yeah... no... yes, I suppose," Harry stammered.

She frowned at him. "What's going on, Harry?"

"Well for one thing, you two weren't the only ones to ask me about DA this week. Everyone has been pestering me and I don't want to do it."

"Why not?" Hannah asked, not at all demanding.

"I told you already," Harry snapped.

"Harry, think who you're talking to. We know there's more to it than keeping your friends safe and liking the Defense Professor," Michael said.

"I don't know... I just don't know," Harry said.

"What don't you know?" Hannah asked gently.

"What I want," Harry said after a moment.

Hannah nodded. "Maybe you just need to think about that. Knowing what you want is important, but sometimes confusing as well."

"But everyone needs things from me and I can't do any of it because I don't know," Harry said.

Hannah looked confused but said, "I take it you can't tell these people that... well, you are right to not do things until you know how you feel about them. It sounds like you need to do some thinking. If you need to talk about it sometime, I'm always around."

Harry shook his head dismissively. He didn't talk about his thoughts, concerns, or problems with people.

"Ok. We'll see you around then," Michael said.

Hannah glared at him but then turned apologetically to Harry. "We do have to go now or we'll be late for study group. Don't forget that you can talk to us."

Harry said nothing.

"Bye, then," Hannah said tentatively before following Michael down the corridor.

Harry waited until they were gone and then went to fly. He was having a lousy week.

On Wednesday, Dumbledore called Harry into his office.

"Harry," he said, "you've been quite patient about the lessons I promised you. Doubtless you are worried about defending yourself properly. Unfortunately, the applicant pool for those who wish to tutor the Boy Who Lived is quite large. I feel it might be best if you aided in the selection process. The first possibility will be arriving this evening at nine-thirty. Please meet him in the Entrance Hall and escort him to the Room of Requirement. He will give you a lesson and if you don't wish to hire him then at any time during the lesson, show him to the door and politely tell him that his services will not be required. I will then arrange a meeting between you and the next candidate. If you wish to take him on as your tutor, then after the lesson you may show him to my office and I will handle the hiring."

"Sure, alright," Harry said.

"Wonderful. I hope it goes well."

That evening, Harry met Darrell Lefevere at the Entrance Hall door.

"Mr. Potter, I can't tell you how delighted I am to meet you at last," the man said.

Harry had a brief flashback to his second year as Lefevere cast a toothy smile that only increased this man's tragic resemblance to Gilderoy Lockhart.

"Profes..."

"Oh goodness! None of that. Please, call me Darrell," he interrupted.

"Err, ok. Well, follow me and we'll go to the training room," Harry said.

As they walked, Lefevere chattered incessantly about Harry, his time at Hogwarts (ending the year before Harry arrived)... Harry stopped listening before they had even reached the top of the main staircase.

None too soon, Harry and Lefevere were standing in the corridor where the Room of Requirement would appear. Lefevere was still talking and Harry couldn't get a word in edgewise. Harry gave up trying to ask the man to wait while he asked for a training room so he simply went about Requiring while Lefevere followed close behind. When the door finally appeared, Harry hurried to open the door and start the training.

Behind the door was not a training room. At first, Harry thought the room was malfunctioning. He had clearly required a training room and unless the next attack was going to be in a restaurant during a romantic supper, this was not right. He turned his puzzled expression on Lefevere. The prospective tutor was blushing and looking over the room with a wistful expression. It took Harry a moment to realize why. When he did, he promptly closed the door and turned away.

"Our lesson is finished. You will not be my new tutor. I'll show you out."

Lefevere made a valiant effort to convince Harry not to turn him away but Harry remained silent through the whole walk back to the front door. As soon as the man was outside the castle, Harry returned to Gryffindor Tower. He found Ron and Hermione waiting up for him but surprised to see him back so soon. He quickly told them that he had sent the tutor away and then went to bed. He realized, just before he fell asleep, that he was actually rather glad that he hadn't had a lesson. He really didn't want to think about fighting the war and attacking Death Eaters so a cancelled lesson was alright with him.

Two days later, Dumbledore called Harry into his office to inform him that another prospective tutor would arrive that evening. They spoke only briefly about the previous lesson. Dumbledore promised to tweak the screening process so that no future applicants wanted to woo Harry more than they wanted to train him to fight.

That evening Harry met Constance Mulligan at the front door.

"Good evening, Mr. Potter," she said.

"Hello, Madam," Harry replied.

"If you would show me to the space provided for our lesson," she ordered.

Harry nodded and led the way to the Room of Requirement.

"I am retired: a veteran of the Department of Magical Catastrophes," she explained as they ascended. "I received an O in NEWT level Defense when I was at Hogwarts back in the forties."

Harry nodded his approval. At least she knew the subject she was looking to teach.

"Why, when I joined the Ministry, it was right in the midst of the war... that's the Second World War, of course – I'm not old enough to remember the First. I remember it as if it were yesterday: my first job was packing offices of the Ministry up and helping them move out of London. With the air raids, it was too difficult for witches and wizards to travel trough London unnoticed. St. Mungo's moved too. Did you know that? Diagon Alley remained but all sorts of floo and appartition points had to be set up in the Alley and the senior witches and wizards in the Ministry at the time spent a full year strengthening the charms that kept it safe and invisible to muggle eyes. They did such a fine job that muggleborns couldn't bring their families..."

"Excuse me," Harry interrupted. "We're here. Just wait right where you are while I fix the room."

"Right, right, child." She flapped her hand and waited while Harry called up a training room like the one he had used for the DA meetings.

"Oh, this will do very nicely," she exclaimed when she and Harry went inside. "I'll just set my bag down on this charming desk," she said as she walked over to a table.

"You know, my late father had a desk remarkably like this one. I believe he left it to my sister... Hope, that is. Or was it Prudence? I know for certain that it wasn't Faith. She got all of the horses and none of the furniture..."

Harry sighed and took a seat on the cushions that lay where they had been left on the floor last year. Mrs. Mulligan was quite intent on her story. Harry hoped she would start the lesson soon.

Two minutes later, Harry stopped her. "Ma'am, I was just wondering, are we going to begin the lesson?"

"Oh, yes, of course," she said. She promptly began patting her hip pockets and then did the same to each sleeve. She turned confusedly back to her bag. "I'm sure it's here somewhere," she said. She began emptying her bag of its contents.

Ten minutes later and there was still no wand, though Harry was starting to think that there couldn't be much that wasn't in Mrs. Mulligan's purse. When a kneazle named Chester, his food and water dish, his litter box, his cat carrier, and his catnip toy came out of the bag and Mrs. Mulligan stopped searching to scold the cat for getting lost, Harry put a stop to the 'lesson.'

"Thank you for coming, Madam. I can see you have your hands full. I'm sure I can find someone else to tutor me. I'll show you and Chester to the door."

"Thank you, child. Would you mind helping me pack?" she asked, clutching the cat under one arm and still searching her pockets for her wand with the other hand.

Harry used a spell he had learned in the village school's reader to pack all but Chester back into her bag.

"Oh, that reminds me of a time back when I first started my job at the Ministry and I spent a month going from office to office and helping everyone pack for the move out of London..."

"Yes, you've said," Harry told her. That didn't stop her from telling the story over again, though this time, it was interspersed with conversation with Chester. Harry was all too pleased to put the front door between him and Mrs. Mulligan. Returning to Gryffindor Tower, he told Hermione that this lesson had ended when the tutor couldn't find her wand. Harry then joined his friend by the fire and waited for Ron to return from his lesson.

Ron's first lesson went much better than Harry's. Of course, there was the small problem that he was so completely magically exhausted afterwards that he went to bed early that Friday night and didn't wake up until Sunday morning. However, he was entirely too pleased with the special attention to complain more than superficially about needing extra-strength pain relief potion and more than twenty-four hours of sleep.

Ron's midweek lesson was much less eventful in its aftermath. Instead of spending his time sleeping, Ron read near-constantly in an effort to memorize the rulebook for British Standard Junior Division Dueling Competitions. Hermione was torn between pride that Ron was finally studying something with such intensity and irritation that this activity took his attention away from her. Eventually, her scholarly side won out. She knew how important being the only Weasley to train with a dueling master was to him. Besides, if she helped him study, he could finish a bit faster and spend that time with her.

Since his slip-up with Hermione, Harry had begun sneaking up to the owlery every few evenings. He needed to fly and it was easier to avoid being caught as a bird than on his Firebolt. He didn't wear his invisibility cloak on these excursions, fearing that it would get lost if he left it in the owlery while he flew. When he went flying, he would reel and soar over the lake and the town of Hogsmeade and skirt the castle walls. It was soothing and he needed it. He was sneaking back to Gryffindor Tower around midnight after one of those flying sessions when he had to stop and tuck himself into a shadowy corner at the sound of footsteps approaching. There was where else to hide at that particular point in the corridor. He hoped Filch wouldn't go too overboard with his punishment.

The shadows offered too little protection when Professor Snape crested the stairs and looked around suspiciously.

"Out after curfew, Potter. Ten points from Gryffindor," Snape snapped.

Harry sighed and stepped out of the shadows. Filch might hate students but Snape hated Harry. There would surely be a week of detentions for this.

"What's the excuse this time, Potter? More dragon-smuggling? Maybe you have a rat to catch?"

Harry balled his hands into fists, the nails digging into his palms. He had to control himself.

"Or are you more interested in betraying your foolish Gryffindor friends?"

"Shut up!" Harry growled.

"Thirty points from Gryffindor."

"Why can't everyone just leave me alone?" Harry muttered.

"Pity the Great Harry Potter. What's the matter? Aren't you tickled pink to be back among the adoring masses after a summer like yours?"

"No, Professor," Harry said, wishing Snape would just assign the detentions and leave.

Snape scoffed. "Of course you are."

"You've seen my memories, Professor. Do you still honestly think that I like being The Boy Who Lived? Because I don't. I hate it."

"And yet you're always so pleased to be back at Hogwarts," Snape sneered.

"Well, when the only choice is between Hogwarts and the Dursleys, you had better bet that I like Hogwarts."

"Of course," Snape said sarcastically. "Why settle for just your family spoiling you when you can have the whole of wizarding Britain at your feet?"

"You still don't get it, do you? You saw the memories. Why do you still insist that the Dursleys spoil me?"

"That's exactly the reason! A few punishments and you think you're abused. You wouldn't know what abuse is! Imagine spending every day in that little room your uncle threw you in for punishment!" Snape spat.

Harry laughed which made Snape snarl. "I don't have to imagine it. That 'room' was the cupboard under the stairs and I slept there every night from the day Dumbledore left me on the stoop to the day my first Hogwarts letter came. I was locked in there without meals more often than not. I was treated like a Malfoy house elf... no, wait. At least Lucius Malfoy calls his house elves by name!"

Snape snorted and crossed his arms, looking down his long nose at Harry. "You are a terrible liar, Potter. It must be obvious, even to you, that the Headmaster would not leave the Boy Who Lived in a place like that."

"Shows how much you know," Harry challenged.

"Five points from Gryffindor," Snape said, almost lazily. He seemed to think he had won the debate.

"It's true, you know. And if anyone but Mrs. Figg ever checked up on me, I have no memory of it."

"That's Professor Figg, and it is a fool's endeavor to elaborate on lies that have already been shown false," Snape lectured.

Harry shook his head at Snape's stubborn self-righteousness and walked around him, getting a few paces down the corridor before Snape caught him by the arm and whispered, "I didn't give you permission to leave. I was enjoying our little conversation."

Harry stopped walking and turned to face Snape. "You obviously don't believe me so I think the conversation is over. Unless you want to 'test my Occlumency' again."

Snape grinned malevolently and drew his wand. "Legilimens," she hissed before Harry could even brace himself.

Images of Harry's childhood flashed in both their minds. Snape riffled through memory after memory of abuse, casting them aside as if they were hiding the happier thoughts. Harry got impatient long before Snape was finished searching. Soon, Harry was offering new memories, ones that should have been happy – like birthdays and holidays and field trips in primary school. Snape discarded them almost as quickly. When he finally withdrew the spell ten minutes later, Harry was shaking and struggling to stay upright by himself. He failed in his attempt and was kept from falling face-first onto the floor only by Snape's grip in his arm.

"Either you are suddenly a master Occlumens or you were telling the truth," Snape said, stressing how equally distasteful those options were.

After a moment, he scowled and admitted, "I suspect the latter given your inability to remain upright on your own. A master would only look like this after two to three times the exposure you just experienced."

Harry was in no condition to respond.

Snape sighed, considering his options for dealing with the worn out teen before him. He could foist the boy off on Madam Pomfrey but waking the overprotective medi-witch up in the middle of the night to deal with damage he had caused to a student didn't sound terribly appealing. He steadied the boy with a hand on each shoulder and led him to Professor McGonagall's quarters. It was Friday, so the Head of Gryffindor might still be awake, perhaps just finishing up her weekly chess game with Professor Sinistra.

When they reached the door, Snape knocked softly.

"Enter," McGonagall called from inside.

Snape opened the door and led Harry inside.

"Minerva, Mr. Potter was out of bounds. I took points, of course. We also had a... small discussion, of sorts... involving Legilimency. He will need assistance locating his bed."

McGonagall, still awake but already clad in slippers and her tartan dressing gown, frowned severely. "Severus, why must you two fight so? You're on the same side, for Merlin's sake. Obviously you weren't being watched or you wouldn't have used Legilimency so you needn't have reduced my student to such a state," she scolded, taking over supporting Harry and leading him across the sitting room to the door that opened onto the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Of course, Minerva," Snape said, already on his way out; now that he knew about Harry, there was something he needed to do.

McGonagall waited until Snape had left, shutting the outer door behind him, then lead Harry into the Common Room and helped him up the stairs to his dormitory. Harry was very nearly asleep on his feet when Professor McGonagall helped him to his bed and waited while he lay down. Before she left, Professor McGonagall covered Harry with a bed sheet.

That night, Harry dreamt that Dumbledore and the Order found out about his summer with the Death Eaters. He was expelled from Hogwarts and shunned by the Weasleys and his friends. The Order sent him back to the Dursleys and let them watch while they snapped his wand. As soon as they left, the Dursleys burned Harry's belongings one by one before his eyes and then beat him and threw him bodily into the cupboard under the stairs. In the dream, he was six again and the cupboard was his bedroom. It wasn't much longer before the memories of abuse faded and Harry found himself in an unfamiliar, dark graveyard. He had only a moment to look around, seeing the writing on the nearest stones in the light of the full moon. The ones that caught his eye were the six with shiny, emerald snakes coiled into heart shapes:

_Marshall Rancourt, 21 Jan 1901 – 31 Oct 1978_

_Cosette Rancourt, 4 Oct 1901 – 31 Oct 1978_

_Corrine Leblanc Riddle, 16 Jul 1929 – 31 Oct 1978_

_Lunette Riddle, 13 Nov 1973 – 31 Oct 1978_

_Evelia Riddle, 1 Dec 1977 – 31 Oct 1978_

"You don't belong here," a sad voice said. Harry tried to look around to see who was speaking but found that he had no control over his head. Then he realized this was like when he had witnessed the snake attacking Mr. Weasley. He was in Voldemort's mind.

Harry felt an odd shove and found himself back in his own mind, in a dream about Dobby driving a muggle car and begging him to ride along so they could get iced pumpkin juice from a designer sock store in the basement of Quality Quidditch Supplies.

//-//-//-//-//-//-

For the first time all month, Harry had a good day. He saw Hannah in the corridor and they exchanged brief greetings, he passed Michael and nodded hello, he helped Professor Figg carry some books from the library to her classroom, and he finished his homework assignments.

Unfortunately, the next day was another bad one. Snape gave Harry an unearned detention to be served the following evening in the Potions storeroom after supper. Though the Potions professor may have been less insulting than usual during class, preferring to ignore Harry, the detention more than made up for it.

Harry reported to the dungeon exactly at 8 pm and knocked on Snape's office door.

"Enter," Snape called.

Harry opened the door and stepped into Professor Snape's office.

The man glared up at him from behind the parchment-laden desk and pointed the feather end of his quill to the storeroom door.

"Potter, you are to join Ms. Greengrass and Ms. Davis in the supply room. The three of you have two hours to label and stock my new supplies. Ms. Davis knows what to do so you will follow her instructions exactly. Get to work."

"Yes, sir," Harry said, crossing the office and entering the storeroom.

He saw the two Slytherin girls who had been in his class at school in August. They were standing at a table and slowly working their way through two wooden crates and a large basket of potions ingredients.

Both girls looked up when he entered.

"Get quill and ink and a stack of parchment labels. Every jar in these crates needs labeled according to Professor Snape's system. If you don't know the symbols, don't guess; Daphne has a chart you can look off of."

Harry nodded and did as he was told. An uncomfortable silence fell as Harry and Daphne relabeled jars and Tracey prepared fresh herbs using methods and tools Harry only vaguely recognized.

Eventually, Harry tired of the silence and asked the girls, "So, why are you in detention?"

"Snape caught us out after curfew. Luckily, he didn't find us until we were already inside," Daphne said.

"I told you our Herbology project would be fine for another night but you didn't listen, as usual," Tracey snapped bitterly.

"I said I'm sorry," Daphne protested.

"Yeah, fine," Tracey replied dismissively.

"What about you?" Daphne asked Harry.

"I don't know. Snape likes causing trouble for me."

"If you expect us to be friendly, you had better watch what you say about Professor Snape," Tracey cautioned.

"Right, well, he doesn't treat me fairly. I'm not just complaining about a detention."

"But you are insulting our Head of House, someone we look up to."

"Yeah, Professor Snape may not go easy on Gryffindors but I hope after this summer you can understand that at least a little."

"No, I don't," Harry said petulantly.

"For one thing, he tries to make up for the rubbish we get from the rest of the school," Daphne said.

"Besides, it's only noticeable because he gets fed up with the idiot Gryffindors that follow their foolish Light ideals blindly, never questioning what their told about us," Tracey said.

"There's nothing wrong with being for the Light!"

Daphne stepped between Harry and Tracey before they could get in each other's face. "That's right. There isn't anything wrong with being a light wizard," she told Tracey. Turning to Harry, she added, "It's ignorance we have a problem with. To be fair though, it's a problem on both sides. We have people who fight solely for blood-purism and the rise of the Dark even though they wouldn't mind being allowed to use magic on muggles without concern for the Statute of Secrecy. Dumbledore's people, on the other hand, follow him because he's a powerful Light wizard and famous and they think he must be right. Some of them don't even really know what their fighting for. Did you?"

Harry frowned, not wanting to admit that the answer to her question was no.

"Never mind. Let's talk about something else," Daphne said.

"Alright. You think of something," Tracey said to Daphne,

"Fine, I will. Harry, what do you want to do after Hogwarts?"

"Well, I used to want to become an auror but lately, I'm not so sure."

"What else are you considering?" Tracey asked.

"Um, I don't know. I know I don't want to work for Gringotts and I don't like the idea of politics... it would be too much like being The Boy Who Lived all the time. I don't really know what sort of jobs there are in the wizarding world."

Tracey rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, there are all sorts of Ministry jobs that aren't political; there's the people who make everything you can buy in Diagon Alley or any wizarding town; there's work at the Daily Prophet; there are lots of jobs with St. Mungo's... all sorts of things," Daphne rambled.

"Right. My parents are both liaisons between the Ministry and the muggle government. Mother monitors muggleborns to make sure they aren't mistreated by their families or their caregivers and that they take their Hogwarts letters seriously. Father devises mundane explanations for magic that muggles figure out and can't be made to forget. Most muggles think he's just an anthropologist that studies religion, myth, and magic; they don't actually know that he's a wizard.

"I'm planning to go into medicine though. I have to get O levels in Potions, Charms, and Herbology and I'm really nervous about that. I already get tutoring from Professor Snape once a week but I don't know that it will be enough."

"That's why Snape trusted us alone with his ingredients then - because he knows that you know how to prepare them?" Harry asked.

"I would assume so. I don't really know what Professor Snape usually does about detention though since this is my first," Tracey replied.

Harry scoffed. "Snape sure favors you Slytherins a lot," he complained.

"Of course he does," Tracey said.

"No. We are not going back to that," Daphne said.

Harry nodded. "Right, then... Daphne, do you want to become a healer too?"

"No, my mother's a ward-weaver. I want to apprentice to her after school."

"What's your father do?"

"He's a priest. You'll see him at the Midwinter festival if you come."

"Priest? So your family must be really religious then. I haven't met any wizards that do more than celebrate Easter and Christmas." Harry said. "But what's Midwinter?"

Daphne rolled her eyes and Tracey looked torn between sneering and laughing.

"We don't celebrate Christmas and Easter at all; we aren't Christian," Tracey said.

"Most witches and wizards aren't. Some are Jewish or Muslim or Hindu or any other religion but the Burning Times in this country soured most of our ancestors to the church. Instead, we're... what's the name muggles use?" Daphne said, biting her lip uncertainly.

"It's _our_ religion, whatever muggles call it," Tracey explained.

"Yeah, and Midwinter is one of the big holidays. It's right around Christmas, actually. Besides the religious celebration, there's a feast and then bonfires and singing and dancing. I can't believe you don't know about it."

"Sorry," Harry said sheepishly. "I was raised by muggles."

"That's no defense," Tracey said. "You've been in the wizarding world for more than five years now. You have no excuse for not knowing about our religion."

"Tracey!" Daphne warned. "Do you have to jump down his throat about everything?"

Tracey ground her teeth together, irritated, but said nothing.

Just then, the door opened and Professor Snape swept in.

"Clean up your work areas and return directly to your Common Rooms," he ordered before turning and disappearing into his office.

Harry and the girls quickly cleaned and put away the last of the ingredients, then went their separate ways. Harry noted with annoyance that, while the Slytherins would be back in their house with time to spare, he would have to hurry to reach the Tower before curfew.


	12. Samhain

The last Tuesday of October saw Harry once again meeting a prospective tutor in the Entrance Hall after supper. When Mr. Edwards arrived, clad in the impressive uniform of an auror expecting trouble, Harry offered immediately to show him to the Room of Requirement.

"Stay where you are, boy!" Edwards ordered.

Harry did as he was asked but rested a hand on his wand pocket, unsure of what the man's intentions were. With a senior auror, it would be reasonable to expect the lesson to begin immediately so as to teach constant vigilance.

Edwards took a dragon hide bag from his back and rummaged through its contents. After a moment, he withdrew a Sneakoscope and two unfamiliar dark detectors. He examined each silent, still device. When he reached the last one, a silver-framed lens that he held to his eye, he asked Harry a question.

"Are you serious about these lessons?"

Harry frowned. He wasn't sure how to answer, especially when the auror was testing him with a device of some sort. Torn between answering yes and no, Harry sighed and said, "No."

The auror hesitated briefly, watching Harry through the lens, before packing the three devices back into his bag and slinging it onto his back once more. "At least you're honest. If you decide you are serious about learning defensive and offensive magics, I would be willing to come again. I do not teach anyone less than completely serious about their studies so I will take my leave now. Good night, Mr. Potter."

Edwards saw himself out, leaving Harry to watch as the third prospective tutor disappeared along the path to the gates. Harry shook his head at himself and went to Gryffindor Tower. Nearly there, he met Hermione returning from the library.

"Back already?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Why? You can't have been gone more than fifteen minutes."

"This one said he wouldn't teach me because I'm not serious about lessons," Harry replied.

"You aren't?"

"Not really. Why can't I be a normal teenager? Why do I have to learn to kill?" Harry whined.

"Harry," Hermione began, obviously flabbergasted, "you were really serious about learning defense and joining the Order and taking the war to Voldemort last year. What happened? Since when do you have any expectation of being a normal student?"

Harry scowled, not liking the corner he had backed himself into. "I'm just so sick of it, you know. I don't like being the Boy Who Lived and I don't want to have to fight. I want to make my own choices."

"There isn't much choice though, is there? I mean, Voldemort keeps coming after you."

"Right," Harry answered half-heartedly. "I guess I'm just feeling rebellious lately."

Hermione smiled. "See, you are a normal teenager. I do understand where you're coming from though. The Headmaster does make a lot of your choices for you, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, and most of them, I don't even know I ever had a choice about."

They had returned to the Tower and Hermione gave the password to the portrait.

"Everlasting Icicle."

They were joined by Ron and Ginny who insisted on reading excerpts of their latest letters from the twins aloud.

Later that evening, Harry went for another of his late-night flights. Unfortunately, Filch happened upon the owlery as he was returning. Harry managed to stay out of sight but clearly heard Filch say he would have to check the owlery more often because he was certain that someone was lurking about. The old caretaker waited, apparently hoping to catch someone. Harry didn't want to risk being missed in Gryffindor any longer so he flew around to the North Tower and slipped in an open window just below Trelawney's classroom. He reverted to human form and quietly picked his way across the school and back to his bed. He didn't notice Hermione watching from the top of the staircase to the girls' dormitory when he came in.

Two days before the scheduled Hogsmeade weekend, Ginny caught Harry off guard. He had been absorbed in his Defense homework while Ron had a lesson and Hermione quizzed a fifth-year Ravenclaw study group on OWL material. He hadn't noticed the youngest Weasley until she sat down beside him, closer than he would have liked.

"So, Harry... I've been wondering why you seem to be avoiding me lately. I don't think I've done anything to make you angry with me," she said.

"No, you haven't," Harry quickly assured her.

"Good. Well, now that we've cleared that up, will you go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"

"I, er... I mean... well... I guess, yeah," Harry stammered. He wished disappointing Ginny was as easy as fighting the Imperious Curse. He had hoped to avoid this but now it was done.

She smiled broadly. "Great. Meet me at in the Entrance Hall at noon."

"Er... alright."

"I'll let you get back to your homework. Thanks, Harry," she said, getting up again but letting her hand brush his leg as she did so.

Harry couldn't help resting his head in his hands as soon as she was out of sight. He really hoped this didn't end badly.

//-//-//-//-//-//-

Harry, Hermione, and Ron returned from morning classes the next day to find a new notice on the Common Room notice board; the Hogsmeade weekend was cancelled due to the likelihood of an attack on Halloween. Ginny was terribly disappointed that their date was postponed but Harry was relieved to be able to put it off. He would have been more relaxed that afternoon and evening if it wasn't for the foreign stress that was building, punctuated with occasional bursts of excitement or worry.

//-//-//-//-//-//-//-

Harry had been getting twinges in his scar all day. More irritating than that, however, was the tension that ghosted across the bond he had with Voldemort. It made him edgy and uncomfortable; something big was happening tonight. Morning classes had been distracting enough but by the end of the day, he had barely been able to sit still. That evening, not even the full stomach from the Halloween feast could help Harry sleep. He got out of bed and went to pace the Common Room instead. It was empty of students but he caught two house elves disappearing with a pop when he stepped down off the last stair. Harry sighed. He supposed he shouldn't keep the elves from their work. He turned towards the portrait hole. As he closed the portrait behind him, he heard the elves pop back into the Common Room.

Harry started walking in no particular direction, keeping his eyes and ears out for anyone who might catch him. Obviously he wasn't paying enough attention because he suddenly turned a corner and ran headlong into Michael Corner.

"Sorry," Harry whispered as he helped Michael to his feet.

"We'd better pay more attention. If Filch catches us, we'll end up with detention and we won't get news until the morning paper comes," he said.

Harry gave him a confused look. "What do you mean about news?"

"Hannah didn't find you today? Oh well. You can probably guess from Dumbledore's absence at the feast that there are attacks going on. Some of us with family in harm's way tonight are going to wait for news. I couldn't sleep if I tried so I'm heading down now," Michael explained as he started walking again.

"Who are you meeting?" Harry asked, walking alongside Michael as they descended one of the smaller staircases to the dungeons.

"Hannah, Daphne, and Tracey, of course, and Pritchard, Conners, Stalk, and Travers. There might be a few others, I guess."

The dungeons were cold and Harry was shivering in his pajamas. Michael was only slightly better off, having wrapped himself in a dressing gown before wandering through the castle.

"Why'd the girls choose the dungeons? It's freezing down here," Harry whispered.

Michael leaned in close to Harry's ear and whispered, "So our news source can stop by on his way to his chambers."

"Professor..." Harry started to ask.

Michael hissed a warning. "The walls have ears."

Harry nodded.

As if to make his point, Michael stopped in front of a blank space of wall and started speaking.

"Michael Corner and Harry Potter seek the Gathering of the Children of Shadows."

For a moment, nothing happened, but then the stone of the wall melted away and a plain wooden door appeared in its place. Michael grabbed the black iron knob with a shivering hand and slowly pushed the door open.

A gentle, flickering light bathed the boys and Harry's eyes needed a moment to adjust. When he could see clearly, he followed Michael into a narrow, torch-lit corridor. Behind them, the door closed with a quiet, echoing click. The corridor, which had seemed endless and without exit, suddenly changed. A door not unlike the one that had led into this corridor appeared five meters in front of them. Michael opened that door just as slowly as the first.

There were quiet voices coming from inside and the light from within was brighter and pleasantly warm.

"Hello," Michael said to whomever was waiting within.

Harry followed him through the door and saw the other students he had been expecting arranged around a room slightly larger than the Transfiguration classroom. The wall was decorated, not with wizard's portraits, but with maps and a pair of muggle paintings: one of a woman and a lapdog and the other of a man and his horse. There was a large fireplace at one end and most of the students were seated or laying on cushions on the floor around it.

"Hi," Harry said to everyone.

Michael went immediately to the pile of extra cushions and blankets that were piled against the wall beneath a large map showing populations of magical creatures in Britain. Harry joined him, eager to warm up. Michael chose a seat beside Conners. Harry set his cushion down beside Hannah and arranged himself comfortably.

"I'm glad you could make it, Potter," Travers said sarcastically before excusing himself to the girls and moving across the room.

"Don't worry about him, Harry," Hannah said.

Harry sighed. He knew better than to expect everyone to like him and Travers, whose uncles were both Death Eaters killed by the Order in the first war, was one of those that preferred just to keep their distance.

"Do you want some tea?" Daphne offered, gesturing to a tea service and several plates of various fruit, biscuits, and breads.

"Might as well," Harry said. "Are you expecting more people or did the house elves outdo themselves again?"

"The latter," Tracey said. "Daphne and I went to the kitchens and asked for tea with a warming charm 'to keep us up for a revising group' but clearly they thought the whole of Slytherin was going to be helping us with homework."

Harry chuckled, knowing all to well what the Hogwarts elves were like. He poured himself a cup of tea. "Are you actually going to do homework while you wait?'

"No," Daphne said emphatically. "It's Samhain. We may not be dancing around the bonfires and feasting with the werewolves back home but we are not going to spend the night doing homework."

At the blank look on Harry's face, Tracey rolled her eyes and explained.

"Today was the last day of the harvest. In the villages, everyone fixes a feast and takes it to the werewolf preserve in Llewllan to share with the werewolves – because it's the werewolves that own the farms and do a lot of the harvest work."

"It's fun," Daphne interrupted. "After the feast, there are games and dances and the Seers offer to read everyone's fortune and the masters of the Dark Arts make offerings to the spirits of the dead and their patron gods and goddesses."

"It is fun but it's a bittersweet holiday too. There's the harvest celebration and feast and the bonfires, and it's also the New Year and a night of spirits," Hannah explained, but it's also a sad day. It's the anniversary of the Great Liberation..."

"The Massacre," Tracey insisted.

"And it's a reminder of the Burning Times," Daphne added before Tracey and Hannah could argue over names.

"I thought real witches and wizards didn't actually die in witch burnings," Harry interrupted.

"Children did, especially muggleborns, and anyone caught without their wand," Tracey explained solemnly.

"But the History of Magic books said..."

"They're wrong. A lot of people would prefer that first-years not read about children being burned."

"Yeah, Dumbledore wouldn't want his ickle firsties to remember that muggles were a real danger back when they knew about us," Tracey sneered.

"That's not all and you know it," Hannah snapped. "It's also left out because a big part of first year is teaching everyone to get along. Muggleborns don't need to learn to fear their parents or wish that they didn't have magic. Not to mention, burning children is simply gory and eleven year olds don't need to contemplate their own mortality in quite that way."

"Were you thinking about your own death as a first year? Of course not. There would have been something seriously wrong with you if you had," Daphne argued.

"I was," Harry mumbled.

"What?" Tracey asked.

"I was thinking about my own death as a first year... well, maybe not my death really but definitely the possibility of facing a known murderer that wanted to kill me."

The girls didn't reply for a moment.

"It would seem that your childhood was a casualty of war," Tracey said quietly.

"I wish it wasn't," Harry said.

"The past is what it is," Hannah said.

"I don't suppose..." Harry began.

He was interrupted by the opening of the door for the first time since he had arrived.

"Professor," several voices exclaimed.

Harry turned around to see Snape, still wearing Death Eater robes and carrying his mask, closing the door behind him. His face was blank as he turned to the room of students.

Snape's eyes scanned the room, stopping briefly on Harry. Without a word, he took a cushion from the pile and set it down in front of the fire. The students all hurried to take seats around him, filling in the space around Harry and the girls and the pair of first years that had been playing chess opposite them. For a moment, Harry thought the whole affair rather resembled story time in primary school but the looks on these students' faces were far from eager and happy.

"We were successful tonight," Snape said, his voice oddly gentle. "There were three attacks on muggle towns. As soon as we met resistance, we withdrew. There were no casualties on our side there. The last attack was on the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's people. The building was destroyed and there were casualties on both sides. We lost Taran Singh, Thomas Wilson, Taylor Hall, and Morgan Scott. There were nine injuries but none are life threatening. That's all I can tell you tonight. Make sure no one knows that you were party to any of this information before the _Daily Prophet_ comes at breakfast. If you aren't sure that you can feign surprise, tell me now and I'll obliviate you."

No one volunteered to have their memory wiped so Snape continued.

"It has been a long night. I, myself, need to practice my Occlumency and report to the Headmaster. I suggest you all prepare yourselves before sleeping as well."

"Professor, your cover wasn't blown, was it?" a female fourth-year asked quietly.

"I would not have returned here tonight if it was."

"Sir, can you tell us anything else?" a first year asked.

"I cannot."

"Our families are ok, then?" Daphne asked.

"To my knowledge, they are," Snape replied.

There was a general sigh of relief from the students.

When no further questions were posed, Snape said, "Now off to bed with you."

As everyone stood and returned their blankets and cushions to the pile in the corner, Snape added, "Potter, you should remain."

Harry nodded, knowing he would have even if he hadn't been asked to. He needed to know about Order casualties.

Daphne and Hannah took a moment to gather up the tray of tea and the plates of snacks to carry back to the Slytherin Common Room where the elves would expect to find them. Hannah waved her wand and banished all the remaining blankets and cushions but for those Snape and Harry were using to the corner where they folded and stacked themselves neatly. With a final nod to Harry and their professor, they left.

"There were losses," Snape began. "Hestia Jones and Dedalus Diggle were both killed. Shackebolt, Brown, Parker, and both Violet and William Kent were injured. Headquarters was completely destroyed."

"What about Remus? He lived there, didn't he?" Harry asked.

"Lupin is fine. He, like the more civilized of his kind, spent the evening celebrating the holiday. If I'm not mistaken, Lupin was dancing around a bonfire in Wales during the attacks. If the Headmaster's mood is any indication, I expect Lupin is in serious trouble for being unreachable but he was not injured in any way."

"And the muggles in the attacks?"

Snape scowled. "Potter, I will give you no answer to that."

"Why?" Harry asked angrily. "Because they're only muggles? They're people too, you know."

"I do know," Snape spat. He took a deep, calming breath before continuing more quietly. "It is too soon after a battle for me to think about that."

"But..."

"Potter, you should go to bed. Heed my advice and practice Occlumency before sleeping; you may need it in the morning. You would do well to remember that you are to look surprised, shocked, worried, and perhaps frantic when you hear the news. If your classmates or I are caught because of you, I will not refrain from showing my displeasure."

Harry frowned. After a moment, he nodded and said, "Fine," before tossing his cushion and blanket on the pile and leaving the room.


	13. Facts and Figures

The morning of November first was about as pleasant as could be expected from the gray, drizzling sky and cold, strong wind to the chaos that ensued when Professor McGonagall stood at breakfast to announce that Professor Dumbledore would be away until supper to deal with the aftermath of the Death Eater attacks. Though she gave no details, no one had to wait long for them. The flock of owls arrived soon after with letters from families and copies of the _Daily Prophet_. Mrs. Weasley had sent a single, scrawled note to Ron and Ginny saying that their family was fine and would be busy for a while.

Though only about a third of the students had subscriptions to the _Prophet_, it seemed that everyone had a chance to read the front-page story. Harry, Ron, and Ginny listened as Hermione read from her copy. Harry tried to look surprised and angry but found it difficult, having had all night to process the news. Those emotions were not feigned, however, when Hermione read that Pettigrew had been killed in the attack on Order Headquarters. Snape had neglected to mention that. Perhaps Sirius would be cleared of the charges that had condemned him to Azkaban.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were distracted from finishing the article when a pair of seventh-year Hufflepuffs stalked over to the Slytherin table and started shouting. It wasn't long before they were joined by students from the other two houses and Slytherins trying to defend themselves. The professors acted quickly and waded into the mess with a combination of spells and strong words. Professor Sprout wasted no time in ordering her house back to their Common Room. Those students who didn't obey were forcibly removed from the Great Hall with well-placed Banishing Charms. Flitwick and McGonagall followed suit. Harry was on his way out the door when the Slytherins, accompanied by Snape, Sinistra, and Vector, lined up to go to their dungeon.

In every Common Room, there were students with strong opinions about the attacks but in every case, the students who didn't want to hear any more about the war won out, dragging their housemates off to quiet corners of their houses to play chess or Gobstones or Exploding Snap. It was just another chapter in the war to them. Within the hour, things were back to normal everywhere but Gryffindor.

It was there that Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were fuming about how horrible and frightening it was that Headquarters had been destroyed. That was the mood when McGonagall appeared and summoned them to her office.

"I'm sure the news comes as quite a shock. I must inform you now that if you are entertaining any ideas of retaliation, you must dismiss them now. The Order will handle this."

She held their eyes until each nodded. She reached into her pocket and removed four letters. After checking the names on each envelope, she distributed them.

"These are not to leave my office. I want to see you burn them in my fire when you've finished reading them. You are not to discuss the contents where anyone else may overhear."

They all nodded and opened the letters.

_Harry,_

_I trust by now you will have read the news from the morning paper. There is nothing I can add at the moment. I regret that this may remain the case, my boy, but this is a grave situation indeed. A new Headquarters must be found and this time, I will have to better control the flow of information and the access to our base of operations. I will tell you what I can in time but for now, I can only ask that you not discuss Order business in public. Also, I must ask that you not mention anything that can't be known from the newspaper with Remus Lupin. I know he is important to you but given that he was unaccounted for and unreachable during the attacks, his loyalties are suspect._

_-Albus Dumbledore_

Harry scowled at the allegations against Remus as he knew was expected of him and crumpled the note up angrily and tossed it into the fire. It was another minute or so before the others finished reading their letters and burned them as well.

McGonagall sent them back to the Tower and reminded them that they were not to speak of these things where they could be overheard. Since students were confined to their houses for the day after breakfast's outbursts, the four chose Harry and Ron's dorm room to talk. Neville, Dean, and Seamus were in the Common Room so the dorm was suitably private.

"Remus isn't a traitor," Harry said firmly as soon as Hermione cast a spell to prevent anyone passing by the open door from hearing them. Whether Remus was loyal to the Order or not, Harry knew he had to defend his father's friend.

"Then where was he during the attack?" Ginny challenged.

"It was a holiday. Maybe he was celebrating," Harry pointed out.

"It was Halloween, not Christmas," Ginny said. "He should have been home at Headquarters noticing the Death Eaters trying to blow the place up."

"I'm sure there's some sort of explanation," Hermione said. "Not trusting Professor Lupin with the identity of the real Secret Keeper was what sent Sirius to Azkaban. We shouldn't jump to conclusions about his loyalties again."

"Besides," Ron said, "you're forgetting that yesterday wasn't just Halloween."

"Don't remind me," Ginny said very seriously. "I know what else it was and I don't want to talk about it."

"What? Why?" Harry asked confusedly.

Ginny left rather than listen to Ron explain.

"Remember in our second year, when Ginny was possessed by that diary. It made her write the first message and allow the first attack because of Samhain. She doesn't like to be reminded of that. The whole family has tried to tell her that it wasn't her fault because the Dark magic would have been stronger that night than it had been before and that's just the way things are. She could have fought her hardest and still not beat the spell because Light magic is weaker than Dark magic at night and during the fall and winter. It doesn't work, though; she thinks we're just trying to make her feel better."

"Oh," Harry said, feeling the familiar guilt spark in his chest at the thought of betraying his friends.

"I don't think Professor Lupin would betray the Order. Both his best friends were killed by Death Eaters," Ron said.

"But Pettigrew was his friend too and he betrayed the Order," Hermione pointed out.

"You just said we should trust Professor Lupin, Hermione. Make up your mind," Ron said.

"I think we should withhold judgment until Professor Dumbledore knows for sure whether Professor Lupin is still loyal to the Order; that's all I meant," Hermione explained.

Before long, Ron and Hermione began to discuss concerns that Harry had already dealt with since his advance notice of the news so he excused himself, saying he should check on Ginny. He found her pouring over Charms homework so he interrupted her only long enough to make sure she was ok before going into the boys' bathroom and opening the window. He needed another flight and he didn't have the patience to wait for dusk. He just hoped no one would close the window before he returned or he would have to come up with a believable way to explain to the portrait of the Fat Lady why and how he was outside the Common Room when everyone was locked in for the day.

Harry returned through the same window just before noon when food was being served in the Common Room. The professors were still wary of the sort of near-riot that had happened at breakfast. Though supper would be served in the Great Hall, according to the prefects, the professors thought the students needed a few more hours to process the news properly.

That evening, Professor Dumbledore returned during supper looking weary and hassled. Ginny, who had been planning to stop by the Headmaster's office and ask for more news, decided it could wait until morning when Dumbledore had had a chance to rest.

The next day, just after breakfast, Ginny and Hermione went to speak with the Headmaster. When they returned to the Common Room, they had no more information to share with the boys than what they had left with. Dumbledore was serious about controlling information. Everything, including the location of the new headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, would be on a need-to-know basis and none of the children needed to know anything yet. All four children went to morning classes feeling a bit dejected. If Harry hadn't gotten a bit of information from Professor Snape, he might have been annoyed enough at being left out of the information loop again to go to see the Headmaster himself but as it was, his want of information did not outweigh his need to keep some distance between himself and Professor Dumbledore.

//-//-//-//-//-//-

A few days later, Harry was called into Dumbledore's office.

"I did promise that I would keep you informed so I thought I might show you a memory of the attack on Headquarters."

"Ok," Harry agreed.

Dumbledore gestured to the pensieve on the table between them. Together, they each reached out a finger and touched the silvery substance within. Immediately, Harry felt the pull and then found himself standing beside Dumbledore on the street outside Number 11 Grimmauld Place.

"This memory is from a captured Death Eater," Dumbledore explained as they watched.

At first, Harry looked around confusedly. There wasn't anyone in sight but the former owner of the memory had to be around somewhere. Suddenly, there was movement at the edge of his vision. He looked over and saw the door of Headquarters appear and open. Remus stepped out, looked around cautiously, and descended the front steps. As soon as he was free of the wards around the house, he disapparated with a soft pop.

When he was gone, twenty black-robed figure appeared from beneath invisibility cloaks and dissillusionment charms or from the shadows of Number 13. The lead figure stepped forward and drew his wand. He took aim at the spot where Remus had appeared and spoke a spell unlike any Harry had heard before. It was clearly not Latin, but he thought it was perhaps Gaelic or Welsh.

Flames appeared on the lawn between Numbers 11 and 13. As the fire crept toward the empty space where Number 12 usually stood, the shabby front walk appeared. The fire crawled along the walk until it reached the stoop which appeared as it too caught fire.

There were shadows all around as if invisible people were watching but there weren't really people there. That was obvious when the shadow figures walked through the fire, or disappeared suddenly as if on fire themselves. No one was there but the shadows remained. Harry thought he might have seen the shadow of a tree not far from Dumbledore before it too disappeared as if on fire and casting its own light. Harry had the awful feeling that this was the Welsh spell the anonymous Death Eater had written him about.

Suddenly the front door of Number 12 appeared and caught fire and then there was scarcely a moment before the building and the fire disappeared. But Harry could still see the shadows and hear the crackling and snapping. The space that held Number 12 was visible and the flickering light showed clearly that the entire building had exploded with flames. The muggles in the houses on either side slept on unaware.

Dumbledore said nothing.

Without warning, the air filled with pops and ten Order members appeared, wands drawn. One quickly counted the Death Eaters and disappeared again. In the meantime, the other nine surveyed the scene for only a breaths-width before casting all manner of spells at the robed and hooded figures. Harry watched the battle unfold but just as Order reinforcements came, Dumbledore reached out and touched Harry's shoulder.

"It's time to leave, Harry," he said.

Harry reluctantly allowed himself to be pulled out of the pensieve and back to Dumbledore's office.

The Headmaster wanted to talk about what they had seen. Harry just wanted to leave and not think about it anymore. Harry's desire won out and he was soon free of the office and on his way to the owlery to fly. He didn't care that it was midday. All he needed was two minutes when no one was watching to change into bird form and fly off.

Harry allowed the wind to clear his mind of uncomfortable thoughts and questions. If Hermione, Ron, and Ginny thought he would share what Dumbledore had told him during this meeting, they would be disappointed. Harry remained outside for more than an hour before returning to human form in the owlery. He half wanted to write to Aly's owner but he had no way to contact her. Instead, he went to the kitchen and got something to eat before heading to his dorm room to hide behind his closed bed curtains

//-//-//-//-//-

During the next week, Harry spent little time in Gryffindor Tower. It was too easy for Ginny to find him there. Since the October Hogsmeade weekend had been cancelled, Ginny had attempted to get Harry to agree on some sort of replacement date. Harry, not particularly interested in dating Ginny Weasley, kept rejecting her proposals which only encouraged her to pester him further.

Similarly, Ron and Hermione were having a disagreement over Hermione's wish to spend Christmas vacation with her family since she had been at Headquarters with Ron's the last year. Ron was having trouble understanding that and had pushed her too far in an effort to get her to change her mind. Still, that argument was short-lived compared to the constant bickering of the previous year.

Ron and Ginny had already invited Harry to the Weasley family Christmas and he had accepted. It would be nice to see Mr. and Mrs. Weasley after so long. He was also interested in seeing the dueling competitions Ron had mentioned that he was considering participating in over the Christmas vacation. Flitwick thought the experience would do Ron some good and had provided information and paperwork for two youth competitions during the last few days in December. Harry thought he might like to go along and watch.

Holidays were still a long way off. In the meantime, there were classes to attend and homework assignments to complete. Ron was doing much better in Defense and Charms courtesy of his dueling lessons. Harry was doing better than he had initially expected in Potions class. Though he didn't say so out loud, he thought his success was likely attributable to the combination of Snape's potion texts and the Professor's recent lack of malice.

On Thursday afternoon, Harry was walking from the library to the Great Hall for supper when he came across Professor Snape in the corridor. True to past experience, Snape was giving out a pair of unearned detentions and enjoying sneering, snapping, and insulting at the expense of Gryffindor. Oddly, Harry was not the target of his wrath. As Harry watched Snape berate two fifth year Gryffindors Ginny sometimes hung around with, he realized that he had not been the target of such tirades recently. Snape had given him one unearned detention and still occasionally enjoyed demeaning him about his potions work, but Harry had not been cornered in a corridor since... well, he supposed since the late night Legilimency incident. This worried Harry. The last thing he needed was Snape being nice to him and arousing suspicions as to the cause of the change. To remedy the situation, Harry recklessly intervened on the fifth years' behalf. His plan worked and he earned a detention with Filch and twenty more points from Gryffindor. It was a small price to pay to stave off suspicion.

//-//-//-//-//-

Harry had been looking forward to the following Friday's Divination lesson for a week. Professor Trelawney had promised a brief overview of prophecy interpretation and Harry hoped to verify or refute what he had learned in Professor Vablatsky's class over the summer. He arrived a bit early for class and sat down in his customary chair, took out everything he would need to take notes, and waited for class to begin.

He needn't have bothered.

Professor Trelawney had no sooner said, "Prophecies are so easily misunderstood that..." then a fourth-year Hufflepuff climbed into the classroom and interrupted.

"Excuse me, Professor Trelawney, but Headmaster Dumbledore wanted to speak with Harry Potter in his office right away," the boy said.

"Mr. Potter is devoting himself to the mystical art of Divination now and for the rest of the period. Can the Headmaster not wait?" she asked, flustered.

"He said right away, ma'am."

"But that cannot be. I foresaw no tragedy. Whatever it is cannot wait?" she asked again.

"I'm sorry, Professor."

"Oh, fine. Mr. Potter, be sure to study the material. Ms. Brown, would you be so kind as to use a copying charm while you take notes this period?"

"Of course, Professor," Lavender said, happy to help her favorite teacher.

Harry sighed and packed up his bag again. He had been hoping that Trelawney would prevail for once and he would be allowed to stay for the lecture but it seemed that Dumbledore had something important that just couldn't wait.

Harry followed the Hufflepuff down the ladder and then hurried to the Headmaster's office. As soon as he was standing in front of the gargoyle, it jumped aside and Harry stepped on to the moving staircase. The Hufflepuff did not follow. When Harry reached the top of the stairs, the door opened and Harry stepped into Dumbledore's office.

"Is something wrong, Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Not at all, my boy. Have a seat. Would you like a lemon drop?" he replied cheerfully.

"No, thank you," Harry said, taking the seat with an expression on his face like he'd already had a whole handful of lemon drops. "I thought there was something urgent."

"Not urgent, no. Perhaps I wasn't as clear as I might have been with Mr. Thompson but I did wish for him to find you quickly."

Harry bit his lip to keep from complaining.

"So, now," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes that Harry found unusually annoying, "how are your classes going?"

Harry took a brief moment to smooth his face and compose himself before replying. "They're fine."

"Good, good. No problems? Not too much work?"

"No, sir," Harry replied evenly.

"Wonderful. I am sorry to say that I have been having trouble finding another skilled applicant to tutor you in defense. I expect you are getting quite impatient with me. Perhaps you might be able to convince Professor Flitwick to teach you a thing or two. He was a dueling champion in his day, of course. It's not battle magic but it's better than nothing, isn't it?"

"Would Professor Flitwick accept another dueling student?" Harry asked, thinking of Ron.

"Well, no. He is quite adamant that he will only accept one dueling student at a time but for Harry Potter, I expect he could find time even if it means giving you that one spot."

Harry scowled at the Headmaster but the man gave no indication that this was unusual.

"I won't cost Ron his dueling lessons," Harry said firmly.

"It is important that you begin extra study, Harry," Dumbledore said.

"I won't study with Professor Flitwick," Harry insisted.

"Then perhaps it is time to resume Occlumency lessons. I would be willing to teach you this time."

"No, thank you, sir," Harry said. The last thing he needed was Dumbledore in his head.

"It is a vital skill for someone in your position," Dumbledore said.

"I think I can manage well enough after the practice I did this summer," Harry said, hoping Dumbledore would accept that reasoning. As an added measure, he attempted to divert the discussion by asking, "Why am I being given so much control over my lessons?"

Dumbledore smiled indulgently. "I learned my lesson last year. You mustn't be treated like a child. You can make your own decisions and you prefer the choices you make on your own.

"In that spirit, I will compromise. If you don't pass my test, you will have to study Occlumency with myself or Professor Snape."

Dumbledore pointed his wand at Harry and Harry had only a moment to ready himself before Dumbledore's voiceless spell hit his mind. Harry tore his eyes away from the Headmaster's immediately.

"No, no, Harry. I can't test your mental barriers without eye contact."

Harry was fuming but he readied himself and Dumbledore cast the spell again and Harry did just as Regulus had taught him in their later lessons and blocked the spell's advance. Dumbledore withdrew quickly, looking surprised. Immediately, he cast the voiced spell. Harry nearly panicked and lost control of his defenses but his growing fear and anger proved strong enough to clear his mind of anything else. Forcefully, Harry broke eye contact.

Dumbledore smiled and chuckled. "Fine work, my boy. Well done, indeed."

Harry barely managed to keep from shouting at the Headmaster.

"I will keep to my end of the bargain. You could do with further study but you have passed so I will not force you to take lessons."

"Thank you," Harry ground out. "Is that all?"

"No, no," he said with a chuckle. "There is one more thing. Are you planning to teach that Defense group again?"

"No," Harry answered quickly.

"Are you sure? It was a wonderful success, wasn't it?"

"Maybe. It was the only way to learn Defense last year but that isn't the case this year. I don't want to put anyone in more danger."

"Did you not come to the conclusion last year that your friends are already in danger because of their association with you and it is your duty to teach them to protect themselves?"

"I never would have taken them to the Department of Mysteries if they hadn't been in DA. I won't give them more reason to put themselves in danger."

"Really now, my boy, if your friends hadn't accompanied you last spring, you would not have survived until the Order could rescue you," Dumbledore said truthfully. "You must see that your strength is in allowing those that care about you to help you."

"I won't do it," Harry said stubbornly. Dumbledore had some nerve to talk about caring after everything he had put Harry through.

Dumbledore smiled pleasantly and said, "It would be excellent experience. With the Defense Professor position growing harder and harder to fill, I might be able to accept someone with such experience after they completed auror training."

Harry scowled. "I won't be restarting the DA."

"Oh, very well," Dumbledore said. "I can only hope that you change your mind eventually. I am afraid that is all I wished to discuss with you but I have another fifteen minutes that I would like to spend in your company."

Harry suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be in Divination and wanted very much to ask Dumbledore about the prophecies but knew he could not. Still, there were other things he wanted to verify so he asked, "Can you tell me about my parents? What were they like? What did they do?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Let's see. James was a charming fellow, a wonderful Head Boy, and an excellent Quidditch player. He was also a brave man and a powerful wizard who fought tirelessly against Voldemort. Lily was the brains behind many a victory in the darkest days, but it took its toll. I had my suspicions that something was wrong at work or at home when Lily quit her job at the Ministry and moved back in with her family for a while. I think perhaps she had had enough of prejudice against muggleborns. I was worried for a while that she would leave the wizarding world but Lily was no coward and she could not stand by while injustices occurred. James visited her often then and they married soon after – it was such a joyous occasion. Your mother returned to fighting after that and later, when they went into hiding, it bothered Lily greatly to be running. She grew quite nervous and unhappy, but I prefer to remember her as she was just out of Hogwarts: opinionated and proud, brave and intelligent. Both your parents were."

"What sorts of things did they do for the Order?" Harry asked, hoping Dumbledore would bring up the Great Liberation.

"Your father passed information to and from the Auror Office and worked to oppose Voldemort's recruitment efforts in the Ministry. Your mother collected and compiled all our information and prioritized our efforts. Her interest was in the children of Voldemort's followers. Sirius' upbringing was common but few children could escape on their own as he did. She worked to try to change that."

"Is that something you can change? What did she do?"

"A great many things, my boy. Unfortunately, our time is now up. You have a free period next, do you not? Why don't you head back to Gryffindor Tower? I'll tell Professor Trelawney that you're excused from the day's assignments and I do hope you reconsider what we've talked about," Dumbledore said.

Harry frowned but picked up his bag and left. He did not return to the Tower yet, however. Dumbledore's stories of his parents had not given Harry renewed confidence in the Order as he had hoped. If anything, they only confused him further. He went to the library and made his way to the History of Magic section. He chose a book on the first rise of Voldemort and sat to read.

The book was a disappointment to Harry. It gave only passing recognition to the Great Liberation and spared the reader details. Furthermore, Order members and aurors were rarely mentioned by name. There was nothing to indicate who was telling the more truthful story, Dumbledore or Aly's owner. Harry returned the book to the shelf and chose two others, hopeful that they would be more informative. If the creaking of the spines when he opened them were any indication, these books hadn't been used much. He checked the books out and tucked them into his bag before leaving to go to his next class.

That evening, Harry read both his library books, Hermione wrote an Ancient Runes essay, and Ron went to his dueling lesson. The smaller of the two books Harry had was interesting chiefly because it documented dates, casualties, and even ideas so thoroughly. Harry was surprised to read that muggle causalities in the first war against Voldemort had numbered only 34 deaths, 21 injured, and 3 tortured over the course of just over twenty years. He had been imagining that it was much higher. Similarly surprising was the number of attacks on muggleborns that were not known to be involved in the war for the Ministry or the Order: 9 attacks in twenty years with 11 fatalities and 23 injured. Still, there was another pair of statistics that caught Harry's eye – the tally of known victims of the Cruciatus: 18, and the number of victims of a "Welsh Death-by-Fire Curse": 29.

It all supported what the anonymous Death Eater had written to Harry without contradicting what the Order members and Hogwarts professors had always told him. That made Harry feel a bit better. It seemed that he hadn't been lied to. He knew that everyone put some of their own ideas behind what they said, did, and wrote so it was understandable that the versions of history he had learned from the Death Eaters and from the Order would be slightly different.

Unfortunately, the second book sparked the return of Harry's confusion and sadness. It did say his mother was the Ministry official in charge of the Great Liberation and it also claimed that Alice Longbottom headed the Order efforts. That bothered Harry but he reminded himself that Lily had not meant the massacre that happened and had been devastated afterwards and the same was likely true of Mrs. Longbottom. He knew his parents, Sirius, and Remus were good people but so was Electra. There were good people on both sides of the war. They were all good people fighting for what they believed in. Harry had trouble adding Regulus to the list of good people. He knew Regulus and liked him and admired his sacrifice, but Regulus was a Death Eater and Death Eaters attacked and tortured innocent, defenseless muggles. Regulus also believed in blood-purism, though a milder form than what the Malfoys espoused. Harry knew he could not support blood-purism or muggle killings but he also found that he could not support an end to the International Statute of Secrecy. He knew the Dursleys were worse than most muggles would be but he also knew that there would be many, many like them and once the Statue was gone, the muggles would know and any effort to change that would take centuries, if it could be changed at all. Neutrality, or even opposition to both sides, seemed the only option for Harry... if only that were possible for The Boy Who Lived.


	14. Trust Misplaced?

Before Harry went to return the history books to the library, Hermione saw them. Not one to let anybody know more about any given subject than herself, she went with Harry to the library and checked them out. Three days later, she had read each and every book in the History of Magic section that included information on the first war against Voldemort. Two days after that, she had five books on the larger history of wizard-muggle relations. By the end of the week, Hermione had decided she was well read on the subject and wanted to discuss it with Harry.

Unfortunately for Harry, her biggest question was what the Great Liberation was. Since the books said his mother was involved, she expected Harry to know. Since Harry wasn't supposed to know, he wasn't sure what to say. Luckily, Neville Longbottom happened to overhear the third time Hermione asked.

"We don't talk about that, Hermione," he said.

"What? Why not?" she asked confusedly.

"It was a big mistake... really, really bad."

"None of the books said anything about it, except that your mom and Harry's were involved," Hermione stated.

Neville got quite pale. He turned away and left the Common Room, kicking things angrily on his way.

"Did I offend him?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah," Harry said dryly. That much should have been obvious, especially to a smart witch like Hermione.

"I didn't mean to. What happened?"

"Can't you just drop it, Hermione?" Harry begged.

"No! I need to know!"

"Why? It's over. It was over before we were born. No one wants to talk about it. Why can't you respect that instead of pushing Neville to violence?"

"Oh," she said. "I should go apologize to Neville."

"No, you shouldn't," Harry said. "He asked you not to talk about it, so don't."

"Fine. I'm going to ask Professor McGonagall about it then. I'd ask Professor Binns but I doubt he knows."

With that, Hermione left and Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He hoped Neville wasn't too upset.

Hermione did not return for nearly an hour. When she came back, the first place she went was Neville's dorm room. Several minutes later, she returned to the Common Room and sat next to Harry.

"I apologized to Neville and now I want to apologize to you," she said quietly. "I didn't realize..."

Harry nodded and looked back at the potions essay he was working on.

But Hermione wasn't willing to end the discussion there.

"Professor McGonagall wasn't in her office, so I went to ask Professor Flitwick but he said he was too busy grading Charms papers to answer. Then I went to Madam Pince and she said it wasn't her job to answer questions that had nothing to do with the library or writing. After that, I went to Professor Vector but she wasn't in her office, so I tried Professor Sprout but I didn't even get to ask my question because she was pruning her Devil's Snare and couldn't be interrupted. After that, I went to Hagrid's and he said he didn't know anything about it, but you know Hagrid. He doesn't tell lies very well. On the way to Professor Snape's office I ran into Professor Binns... well, I suppose I ran through him... but anyways, he did know. That surprised me but I was glad I didn't have to bother Professor Snape.

"Professor Binns told me about how, for a little while, children of Death Eaters weren't invited to Hogwarts and so they went to a Welsh school. He said they moved to a hidden town near the school but before long, the Ministry and the Order decided that the children would be better off away from the Death Eaters and so the Great Liberation was planned.

"Apparently, they went on Halloween one year because the muggles that lived in the towns nearby wouldn't think anything of huge numbers of strangely-dressed people gathering in an open field around a bonfire for the holiday.

"They had two Curse Breakers with them but the wards around the town were too strong. I guess the Death Eaters really wanted to keep muggles out..."

"No. It wasn't about the muggles. The wards were to keep the Ministry from finding them. There was a law forbidding entirely magical villages other than Hogsmeade," Harry corrected before he caught himself and turned back to his essay.

"Oh... well, ok. Anyways, they had all these aurors and Order members but they couldn't get through the wards to take the children so they thought that maybe if they lit a fire at one end of the valley, they could scare everyone in the town out of the wards on the other side of the valley. Somehow, the whole town caught fire very quickly and a lot of the Death Eaters' families died before they could escape the wards.

"Professor Binns said that only a few children were 'liberated' at the cost of more than a hundred lives. I didn't think that the Order would do such a thing."

Harry pretended to be engrossed in his potions book in order to cover the odd expression on his face that was a mixture of sadness and dread and disappointment. Of all the things he had learned over the summer, that was perhaps the one he most wanted to be a lie and here was Hermione telling him that it was all true.

"You knew... even though you told me you didn't. How did you find out?"

"My aunt," Harry said.

"But I thought she never told you about your parents."

"She thought my mother's depression after the Massacre was a great joke," Harry said.

"Oh Harry, I'm sorry. She..."

"Hermione, drop it. Now you know all about it and why no one wants to talk about it so just shut up already," Harry ground out through gritted teeth. He gathered his homework up and stormed out of the Common Room much as Neville had more than an hour ago.

For the rest of the week, Hermione gave Harry his space. Without Harry to spend her time around, she was back to spending a lot of time with Ron. Unlike before their fight, however, she had taken to calling Ron on his more immature ideas and this occasionally provoked the sort of bickering Harry had thought they had gotten over during the summer.

As Harry was alone more often than he had been recently, Ginny quickly saw an opportunity to spend more time around Harry. It wouldn't have been so bad if she had just wanted to work on homework or play chess or something like that but she considered herself Harry's girlfriend and, in her opinion, girlfriends were beyond such things, especially when impatient for a date. Finally, he agreed to go to Madam Puddifoot's with her on the next Hogsmeade weekend but privately, he hoped the war would cancel this month's trip as it had the last two.

On Friday, Harry saw that luck was with him. The Hogsmeade weekend had not been cancelled but the date with Ginny would not be possible. In order for the professors to better watch the students in town, a new system had been devised. Third, fourth, and fifth years would be allowed to visit Hogsmeade in the morning and sixth and seventh years would go in the afternoon after the younger students had returned. Ginny was disappointed, of course. It was only a small consolation to her that a lot of the other students were in the same situation. Since it was quite possible that the December Hogsmeade weekend would be cancelled, many students took the November weekend to do early Christmas shopping. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were among them.

Students had to stick to the main shops where Professors McGonagall, Hagrid, Sprout, and Vector could keep an eye on them. Around one o'clock, Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked down to Hogsmeade and started their shopping at Honeydukes. They also stopped at Gladrags for Dobby's annual gift of several pairs of socks. After that, the three friends went to the Three Broomsticks for butterbeers. There was just enough time to order bottles to drink on their walk back to school.

Back at Hogwarts, Harry carefully hid the gifts he had bought for his friends in the bottom of his trunk. Just as he was finishing that, Ginny found him and told him all about how she had spent her day in his absence. Harry really hoped she would tire of him soon.

That evening, Harry snuck out for another of his after-dark flights. Even though he had reduced his trips to once a week, he was used to moving through the halls without running into Filch or his cat. Since he suspected Snape had been avoiding the route he knew Harry would take, Harry wasn't as attentive as he could have been. If he had been listening closely, he might have noticed the very faint shuffle of footsteps following behind him all the way to the owlery where they stopped and watched while Harry greeted Hedwig. He really should have noticed the gasp when he changed into a bird but perhaps his hearing was still adjusting with his form at that moment. As he flew out into the night, the one who knew this secret left.

//-//-//-//-//-

Harry gave the Gryffindor portrait the password, thanking her for waiting up for him to return from 'the hospital wing', and then slipped quietly through the portrait hole. He was tiptoeing across the Common Room and had almost reached the stairway to the boys' dormitory when he heard a quiet voice behind him.

"Harry Potter, you have some explaining to do."

Harry jumped and spun, grasping for his wand, but it was only Hermione.

"Merlin, Hermione! Did you have to scare me to death?" he whispered loudly.

"You've made it a habit to sneak out at night," she told him.

He didn't say anything.

"You don't wear your invisibility cloak but you haven't lost house points since I started checking three weeks ago."

Again, Harry remained silent. So far, there was nothing deniable and nothing dangerous.

"You're an animagus," she stated. "Why didn't you tell me? You know I would have loved to learn with you."

Harry frowned. Truth was probably the best answer. "I wasn't supposed to learn on my own. McGonagall was going to teach me but I wanted to learn it myself."

"Like your Dad and Sirius."

"Yeah," Harry said, knowing it was true even though that hadn't been his motivation.

"I'm still angry at you."

"Why?"

She laughed quietly. "You know, when I first realized something was wrong? It was more than a month ago. You were around less than I remembered you being in previous years and you were defending Slytherins for no reason. Right up until you agreed to go out with Ginny, I thought you might have a Slytherin girlfriend."

Harry scoffed. "I didn't and I don't," he said emphatically.

"Boyfriend?" she guessed.

"No," Harry insisted.

"It would be alright with me if you did," she said.

"I don't," Harry snapped.

"Ok. I know you're not the type to cheat. Besides, cheating on Ginny would be pretty dangerous."

Harry laughed nervously at the mental image of Weasleys being violently angry at him. "I know."

"Harry, why didn't you tell us?"

"About being an animagus?"

"Yeah, and about your flights. We'd have loved to learn and even if we couldn't fly with you because we didn't become birds, we still would have had fun together."

"I needed time to myself," Harry told her.

She thought for a moment and then pursed her lips, apparently deciding if she should say what was on her mind. "You never needed that before," she finally said.

"Yeah, well, things were different before," Harry said, offended.

"Wait, I didn't mean it that way," she said hastily. "I know things are different. I just meant that, well, you don't seem to be dealing with what happened last year."

Harry kept right on scowling at her.

"Look, Harry, I'm sorry. I just... never mind. If you want to talk about whatever's bothering you, I'm here. I'm sure Remus and the Headmaster and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would listen too and you'd probably prefer to talk to them... but if you want, I'd be happy to help any way I can."

She patted Harry's shoulder tentatively before smiling and saying, "It's late. We should get to bed."

Harry nodded and turned away. "Good night," he said quietly over his shoulder as he climbed the stairs.

//-//-//-//-//-//-

The very next day, Harry realized that he needed to talk to Hermione some more. He found her alone with a book in front of the Common Room fire. It was nearly noon and Ron would be either eating or working on homework for his dueling lessons. Harry asked Hermione to come with him so they could talk. She agreed and followed him to a small room he sometimes flew from because it had no portraits and was located midway up the North Tower.

Harry was nervous the entire walk. He didn't know how to start the conversation he wanted to have. Consequently, when they were alone in the room, Harry blurted out, "What do you think about the International Statute of Secrecy?"

Hermione looked puzzled for a moment, then took a deep breath and said, "It says I am not to use, discuss, or display magic or magical artifacts around muggles, including all but my immediate family. This means that only my parents know that I go to Hogwarts. Most of my other relatives think I go to a boarding school for exceptional pupils that I would have attended had I not gotten my Hogwarts letter. I don't like lying to them."

Harry frowned. "What would you do if you could tell them?"

"I would... at least I think I would," she said. She pursed her lips thoughtfully for a long moment and then said, "Honestly, Harry, I don't know. I've thought about it before and I've never come to any conclusion. It doesn't matter anyways. This is all hypothetical."

Harry shook his head. "No. Part of what Dumbledore fights for is letting more muggles know about us."

Hermione looked curious and Harry thought that she might actually run off to the library in an attempt to verify this new information but she remained to hear Harry out.

"But I haven't heard him talk about that at all and none of the Old Crowd has either."

"Never mind that. What do you think about it? Should it stay the way it is or would you like to be able to tell muggles about us?" Harry asked.

Hermione thought again. Eventually, she said, "I sometimes want to tell people but I know that a lot of other witches and wizards don't feel comfortable with muggles knowing and this is an all-or-nothing issue. Given your experience with your relatives, I'm inclined to think that it's probably a better idea to keep the Statute. It works the way it is and changing it legally would be for the International Federation of Wizards to do. It couldn't be a decision made exclusively in Britain."

Harry nodded.

"Why do you ask?"

"I've been thinking about a lot of things lately. That and the differences between magical and muggle cultures, the Restriction on Underage Sorcery, the Animagus Registry..."

"Alright, Harry... one thing at a time," she said. "What about magical and muggle culture? They're not that different these days, are they? Aside from the clothing, obviously."

"I think they are, Hermione."

"But things at Ron's and here at Hogwarts aren't too different from the way you and I grew up, right? Maybe in homes like Malfoy's it's different, but I don't look up to that."

"But there are wizard holidays, you know. They're different," Harry pointed out.

"Well, but no one we know celebrates them. I think I read that most of the Light wizards have stopped within the last fifty years, but I'd have to check that fact."

"Don't. I'd really rather you not mention that I'm questioning these things... and if you could not mention the animagus thing to anyone, too."

"But, Harry... oh, fine. What else are you worried about?"

"Not worried... just... I'm just thinking."

"OK. Wasn't the Restriction on Underage Sorcery next on your list?"

"What do you think about it?" Harry asked.

"It's important. A lot of children can't be trusted to use their magic safely without the supervision of a professor. What if someone tried a new spell and didn't get it right and got injured? There wouldn't be a professor there to help them. Besides, it's hard enough to keep magic secret from muggles without children who don't know any better doing magic over the summer."

"Did you know that it used to be different?"

"The Restriction? How so?"

"Students used to be able to do magic outside of school as long as a fully-trained witch or wizard was watching them."

"I would have to visit the library to verify that," she said skeptically, "but I wouldn't have liked it. I wouldn't have been able to do the same things all summer that half bloods and purebloods could. It's not fair."

"I agree, but is it fair that now our classmates with magical parents don't get to use magic during the summer? Wouldn't it be easier if people like you and me spent summer hols in wizarding homes?"

"Oh, sorry. I forgot that it would apply to you too. I do like to see my family but I would have to choose and... I don't know. I guess it isn't fair now and it wasn't fair when it was different."

Harry nodded.

"You haven't told me what you think about all this," Hermione pointed out.

"I don't know what to think," Harry replied.

"Maybe you should talk with Professor Dumbledore. I'm sure he knows all about these things."

"No," Harry answered adamantly. "I know you think the Headmaster is great and can solve any problem but this one he can't and please, please don't try to arrange for him and me to talk. I don't trust him to tell me what I need to know."

"I wasn't planning to visit Professor Dumbledore," Hermione snapped.

"I know you, Hermione. You probably think I'm just being stubborn and secretive because that's the way Dumbledore was to me last year, but you're wrong. I have my reasons."

"Then what are they, Harry? Why don't you trust the Headmaster? He's knowledgeable, the head of the Order, and the most powerful wizard in the country."

"I need you to trust that I know what I'm doing. I don't want Dumbledore to know about my animagus ability or the stuff we've been talking about. If you can't respect that then I'll know I can't share my thoughts with you anymore."

"I won't say anything," Hermione said but it was obvious that she was already planning how to tell the Headmaster.

"Hermione, do I need to obliviate you?"

"No," she said.

"Look. I could get in real trouble for questioning these things. I'm the Boy Who Lived. Everyone expects me to win the war for the Order but I should have a right to choose whether I want that job. I mean, I could accept the job and possible get killed but fight to stop muggle killings and blood purism in the process or I could say I don't want any part in the war and panic everyone who supports the Order and possibly find myself forced into fighting by desperate people. I don't know what I want and I need you to keep quiet until I decide."

"But shouldn't Professor Dumbledore know..."

"No. He is one of the people that would try to manipulate me into fighting if he thought I was pulling out of the war."

"I don't believe that of him."

"Hermione, he already does it. He's been pushing me to start the DA by playing on my guilt and with promises of the Defense Professorship after Auror Training. I need to know what I want and how I'm going to get it before I tell him anything," Harry insisted. He was truly starting to worry that he might have to take Hermione down to Professor Snape's office and have her obliviated. That would be a disaster and probably the most unpleasant favor he would ever have to ask of anyone.

Hermione considered silently. Finally, she said, "Alright. I won't tell the Headmaster on you but I still think you should talk to him."

"I'll think about it but it's ultimately my decision."

Hermione frowned but said, "I know."

"Then let's go back to the Common Room before Ron misses us," Harry said.

"Ok."

They went back to Gryffindor Tower and avoided all mention of their conversation. Privately, Harry berated himself for ever thinking that Hermione might choose neutrality when there were helpless muggles to protect and people like Malfoy to fight. Harry wished he didn't feel so alone.


	15. Holiday Plans

Just when the Heads of House should have been passing around a sign-up sheet for anyone staying over the holidays, an announcement was made instead. Hogwarts was to be closed for the vacation. All the students and most of the professors were to leave. Since Ron and Ginny had mentioned that Harry would surely be welcome at the Burrow, Harry wasn't too worried about it. Unfortunately, Dumbledore had other plans. He called Harry into the Head's office and told him the Weasley home was not safe and he would have to stay at Privet Drive. No amount of arguing, pleading, begging, or reasoning would change the old man's mind. Harry was understandably furious. To make matters worse, he was forbidden from mentioning that fact to his friends until the train ride home.

That night, Harry did not wait for the cover of darkness to go flying. He took his Firebolt to the Quidditch pitch and flew until just before curfew, then took his broom back to his dorm room. After that, he went to the boys' bathroom and opened a window, sat on the sill, and when no one was looking, he changed and flew outside. While he was flying, someone closed that window and he had to search for an open window and ended up using the one in the girls' bathroom which was unoccupied at the time. He then changed back and snuck out across the empty Common Room and up the stairs to bed. At least the wind in his face always made him feel better. Harry needed a vacation. He was just going through the motions of class, being around his friends, avoiding Ginny, and doing homework.

The first week of the month seemed to last forever. The second week was off to a similar start. Harry and Hermione were in Potions when there was a brief pause in the tedium. Hermione really was too observant sometimes.

"Harry," Hermione said during class, "have you noticed that Snape hasn't seemed like himself lately?"

"What?" Harry asked, not pleased with being distracted from the complicated potion.

"Well, he hasn't insulted you in more than a week."

"Oh. I hadn't noticed. Maybe he's finally come around," Harry said nervously.

"Ms. Granger, five points from Gryffindor," Snape snapped.

Hermione scowled and went back to her work but Harry was still thinking about what she'd said. He needed to speak with Professor Snape.

After class, Harry waited for the other students to leave. Hermione never had time to wait and walk with him after Potions so he was spared having to make up an excuse to remain. Once he was alone with the professor, he approached and said, "I want you to insult me and give me detentions I don't deserve again."

Snape went right on tidying the now empty classroom.

"Sir, you used to do those things and now you don't."

"I treat you just as I do any other student," Snape replied.

"But I'm not any other student; I'm Harry Potter and you hate me."

"I do not."

"You have since you saw me first year."

"I did hate you then, but I no longer do."

"Why?"

"It took you long enough but you have finally begun to think for yourself," Snape said. "Furthermore, I have come to better understand your situation."

"Fine, sir. But my point is: I'd rather not have to explain to people why I'm not your least favorite student anymore."

"Then don't."

"But I have to, if they ask."

"No, Potter, you do not."

"I'm surprised Professor Dumbledore hasn't said anything yet but what am I going to tell him when he asks?"

"He won't. I explained to him that I would be treating you differently shortly after I made the decision to do so. I believe that conversation caused the Headmaster a good bit of concern over your Occlumency skills."

"Oh," Harry said dumbly.

"Leave, Potter, or you will be late for your next class," Snape said.

Harry glanced at his watch. He did have to leave. "Can you at least give me a detention once in a while?"

"Certainly, if you do something to merit them," Snape said, becoming annoyed with Harry's persistence.

The first of the second years in Snape's next class arrived so Harry said, "Fine."

Harry had to walk quickly to get to his next class on time. He would have to think up ways to earn detentions without getting into too much trouble and he was going to have to fool Hermione. His life was so complicated.

//-//-//-//-//-

There was one last Hogsmeade weekend before Christmas vacation and Ginny was determined to get a date with Harry in before the holidays. She planned a visit to Madam Puddifoot's for them, followed by some shopping. Had he not been worried about angering her, Harry would have turned her down outright when she asked rather demandingly on Thursday night. As it was, he was hoping the heavy feeling in the air and the cloudy sky were indications that weather might be cause to cancel the Hogsmeade visit.

When Hogwarts awoke the next morning, it was to a dark gray sky and frigid, whipping winds that had descended overnight. There would be snow and lots of it. By the end of breakfast, the ceiling of the Great Hall was white with snowflakes and the grounds outside were already dusted. Dumbledore spoke with his professors and then made the announcement that Care of Magical Creatures classes would be cancelled for the day. By noon, Herbology classes were cancelled as well. The snow was accumulating extremely quickly. At supper, the Hogsmeade visit scheduled for the following day was cancelled much to Ginny's dismay and Harry's relief. By dusk, Harry looked out at more than a foot of snow on the ground and plenty in the air and decided not to take his usual flight.

All of Saturday, the snow kept falling. It finally slowed to a stop mid-afternoon on Sunday. Students wasted none of the few hours they had left of a weekend; nearly the whole school was outside. There were so many dripping-wet snowball fighters coming inside for supper that Filch was up in arms over the mess they made. Professor McGonagall distracted him long enough for Professors Sprout and Vector to discreetly vanish some of the mess without offending the man.

By Monday morning, the sun was out and pathways had been cleared so that all classes could resume. By the middle of the week, the weather had turned warm and the snow was melting. Students tracked mud everywhere. On Friday, the water level in the lake was nearly a meter higher than usual and the lowest levels of the dungeons smelled a bit damp. Harry made up for his missed flights. He happily reeled and dived and generally enjoyed himself.

Too soon, the snow was gone and with it, Harry's good mood. He was packing his trunk up for vacation and listening to Ron go on about all the great things they would do over the holiday. Harry debated telling Ron that he had to go back to Privet Drive but he decided Dumbledore had his reasons for making him keep his holiday plans a secret. Instead, he tuned out Ron's monologue and methodically packed everything away. Everyone in the Tower was packing. It was the last night before holidays and the train would depart mid-morning.

After a large breakfast, all of the students made their way to the Hogsmeade station and onto the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny found a compartment to themselves but were soon joined by Hannah Abbott.

For a while, they talked about school but soon it was time for prefects to take turns in the corridors. Since Ron, Ginny, and Hermione had taken their turn on the ride to school, they did not have to work this trip. Hannah, however, did have to work. While Hannah took her turn patrolling the corridors, Harry gave his friends their presents and the ones he had gotten for Order members. Hermione told them they had better wait until Christmas to open them though Ron looked like it was barely within his self-control to keep from ripping the paper off immediately.

"I'm not allowed to stay at the Burrow over the holidays," Harry told them.

"What? Why not?" Ron and Ginny asked.

"Dumbledore says it's not safe enough and I have to go back to the Dursleys'."

"When did he tell you that?" Hermione asked.

"Back when he announced that everyone had to leave the castle for the holidays. I wasn't allowed to tell you until now."

"That's not fair, mate. You had to spend all summer with the muggles."

"Why didn't you answer our letters?" Ginny asked suddenly.

"What?" Harry asked.

Ron and Hermione looked as if they weren't sure that they wanted an answer to that question but at least knew what Ginny was talking about.

"I didn't get your letters," he said.

"You got Professor Dumbledore's letters, though, right?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah," Harry replied confusedly.

"Look, Harry, we didn't want to say anything," Hermione began.

"Yeah. I mean, maybe you have a whole lot of muggle friends and you just forgot," Ron finished weakly.

"No way," Harry said. "I don't have any muggle friends and even if I did, I wouldn't forget to answer your letters. I never got any."

"Well we wrote them and gave them to Professor Dumbledore every week and he said he would send them," Ginny said.

"He didn't," Harry said, his irritation with the leader of the Light.

They were interrupted when a fifth-year Ravenclaw who was looking quite ill stuck her head in the door and asked Ginny if she would mind taking over in the corridors. Ginny nodded and the girl left.

"Professor Dumbledore must have sent them. Maybe your wards are off and they stopped all our letters or something," Ginny said on her way out of the compartment.

"He didn't send them, did he?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Maybe it was like Ginny said, with the wards," Harry replied weakly with a sideways glance at Ron.

"Harry, what are these wards? Either you or Professor Dumbledore have to know what they do. They can't evolve on their own. Did you change them to keep our mail out?" Ron said.

"No," Harry replied.

"Then Professor Dumbledore did," Ron said.

"Then why did he tell us he would forward our letters? And why did he say Harry must have been to busy to reply?" Hermione asked.

They both looked to Harry for the answers.

"Err, well... Alright. Dumbledore fixed the wards so that most magical creatures couldn't come through. He delivered his letters via Fawkes. I didn't even have an Order guard this summer; they couldn't have gotten through the wards if they tried."

"Wait," Hermione said, "so why didn't Professor Dumbledore tell us that we should have used muggle mail?"

"Because the wards are based on sacrificial magic. The more I give up, willingly or not, the stronger they are," Harry replied.

"Right. Mr. Weasley said that was part of the reason our world was hidden from you... that and so you would grow up knowing muggles," Hermione said.

Harry declined to correct her misperception of the basis of his wards, knowing that he wasn't supposed to be so knowledgeable and whatever he said would probably make its way back to the Order. Luckily, they were distracted by the announcement that it was time to change into muggle clothing. As everyone removed their robes and hats and cloaks in favor of jeans, t-shirts, and jackets, the train pulled into the station. Everyone gathered their luggage and entered the slowly moving queue to leave the train.

Remus Lupin and Kingsley Shacklebolt were waiting to meet Harry on the platform. Ron, Ginny, and Hermione said goodbye and went to find their parents.

Remus looked even poorer and more tired than Harry remembered. Still, he smiled warmly and hugged Harry before leading him through the barrier and onto the muggle platform.

"Do I have to go back to the Dursleys?" Harry asked.

Remus frowned. "I'm afraid so," he said.

"Why? They're awful."

"Because it's safe. Besides, they're your family. Teenage boys are supposed to think their family's awful. It means their doing their job and keeping you out of trouble."

"Yeah, that's it," Harry said sarcastically.

They had found the Dursleys, who were accompanied by Tonks. As they approached, Harry thought he saw Tonks pass a wad of muggle money to Aunt Petunia.

"Have a good holiday, Harry," Shacklebolt said.

"Yeah, sure," Harry said, annoyed with having to spend even one more minute with the Dursleys. "I'll probably spend the entire vacation in my room."

To Remus, he added, "No one should bother coming to see me. It'll only make the Dursleys mad."

Hopefully, no one would try to visit because he didn't intend to be there. With that, Harry strode purposefully toward his aunt and uncle.

"There you are boy," Vernon said, grabbing Harry roughly by the arm. "Let's go, Petunia, Dudley. I've had enough of these freaks."

Uncle Vernon dragged Harry away from the three Order members and a smug-looking Petunia and cowed Dudley followed in their wake. This continued all the way to the parking lot where Harry was surprised to see the car loaded with muggle luggage.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked.

"We're going to visit Marge, boy," Petunia snapped. "You can leave now – we don't care where."

"What? Those adults are probably following us to make sure we leave alright," Harry protested.

Vernon turned red in the face and looked about to shout but Petunia was quicker.

"Then get in and be quick about it," she hissed.

Harry climbed into the back seat of the car, beside Dudley. He was glad that he had his trunk packed away in his bottomless bag or there would not have been room for it.

Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon climbed in, looking around nervously for who was following them. They started the car and pulled out of the space. As they drove down the row of cars and out of the lot, Harry recognized Professor McGonagall. He had seen her on the platform and not realized it; he wasn't used to seeing her with her hair down, dressed in a muggle skirt and jumper. She watched as the Dursleys' car pulled out into traffic and began the journey to Marge's house.

Ten tense minutes later, Vernon pulled off on the side of the road and turned to shout at Harry.

"Get out, boy. A freak like you can find your own way home. We're due at my sister's."

Harry took a moment too long to react and Harry got pushed roughly against the car door. Hastily, he opened it and a final push from his Uncle and Dudley saw him tumbling out of the car. He landed face down on the sidewalk with a painful, grating crunch. When he got up, the Dursleys' car was already gone. Harry rubbed his aching face and his hand came away covered in blood. The whole left side of his face was scraped. For a minute, he stomped and ground his teeth angrily at his relatives but when he felt blood trickle down his neck, he took is wand from his pocket and used his portkey to go home, not caring what the muggles nearby thought.

Safely within his home in Eyrie's Edge, Harry summoned his house elf to take his trunk up to his bedroom. His next stop was the bathroom where he washed his face and cleaned the scrapes. He stripped off the torn t-shirt and dirty jeans and found another pair of scrapes on his left elbow and hip. He cleaned those as well. Searching through the potions cabinet that Electra had instructed Cedar to keep stocked since Harry's very first day in Eyrie's Edge, Harry found a bottle labeled Wound Cleaning Potion. He recognized the nasty purple slime within from his fourth year encounter with a dragon. He applied the potion carefully to his wounds and winced as the potion smoked and stung. Once the purple potion had smoked itself out and vanished, Harry chose a bottle he recognized as Murtlap Essence. Absently, he rubbed the spot on the back of his hand that had used this potion before. Harry took a cotton wad from a bag in the corner of the cabinet and uncorked the bottle. He soaked the cotton and then coated his scrapes with it. Before he had finished coating the last of his injuries, the potion began to work and his face began to heal slowly. The crawling sensation was disconcerting but at least he was healing.

Suddenly, Cedar appeared in the doorway and offered him a fine green robe he had not taken with him to school. "Master Harry is having a visitor, sir."

"Who is it?" Harry asked, taking the robe and putting it on.

"Is Mistress Black, sir."

"Thank you, Cedar. I'll be down in a minute," he said, returning the bottle to the cabinet. He quickly fastened the buttons of the robe and turned to walk past Cedar.

"That won't be necessary," said Electra as she crested the stairs. "What happened to you, Harry? I put a charm on the cabinet to tell me if you used more than one dose of certain potions."

"Oh," Harry said, surprised. "I, err, just got back from school. My relatives picked me up at King's Cross."

Electra frowned. "Picked you up and then threw you down from the look of it," she said, her eyes roaming over the blood stained clothing, depleted potions bottles, and used cotton.

She stepped into the bathroom and drew her wand, quickly casting a pair of diagnostic spells over Harry. "I see you've taken care of it. Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"No," Harry said.

"Fine, fine. Did you need to use that letter I gave you before you left or do you still have it?"

"I still have it," he said.

"I'd like to add to it," Electra said.

"I'll get it," Harry said.

"I'll wait in the sitting room then," Electra said, turning and heading back down the stairs.

Harry went into the bedroom and took his trunk from his bag. He rummaged through it until he found the letter, still sealed and safe between two of his fifth-year books. He took it downstairs to Electra who had already procured quill and ink. She quickly opened the seal and wrote two new paragraphs. She signed it again and resealed it, then handed it back to Harry.

"This is for the same use as last time. If anyone questions you, give them this. I wish I could stay but I'm on duty today at the hospital in Neidrham so I should get back."

"Ok. You didn't have to come, you know. I can take care of a few scrapes by myself," Harry said.

"I'm sure you can," she replied. "I'll try to stop by later but I'm working double shifts from now until Midwinter's Eve. If I can't visit, I'll make sure Regulus comes to check on you."

"You really don't have to," Harry protested.

"I know. Until next time then, Harry," she said, standing and straightening her lavender healer robes.

"Bye," he said, standing to walk her to the door.

Once Electra was gone, Harry went back upstairs and finished cleaning up the bathroom. After that, he unpacked his trunk. Finally, he went downstairs and took a quilt from the back of the sofa in the sitting room and headed for his porch swing. A little solitary relaxation was exactly what he needed.


	16. Midwinter Festivities

The first full day of vacation was spent alternately pitying himself and ranting against Dumbledore for isolating him from the people he was supposed to want to help. The Death Eaters hadn't made a single move against him since Aly brought the first letter. There was no reason to want to hide him behind Privet Drive's wards. He should be with his friends and their families, not stuck in a muggle household or hiding in a Death Eater village. Harry did his best to distract himself by helping Cedar decorate the miniature evergreen tree that she had found and placed at the center of his large dining room table. The little elf had already done a wonderful job hanging boughs of holly and mistletoe and all sorts of decorations throughout the house. Harry assured her it was beautiful but privately, it made him sad. He had only ever partaken in the festive decorating of a house at Grimmauld Place with Sirius but now Sirius was gone.

Harry found himself rummaging through his trunk in search of the Black family's tapestry. He opened it up to look sadly at the burn mark where Sirius' name had once been. Something else caught his eye: Regulus was no longer listed as deceased. In fact, his name was connected to that of Electra Langley. Beneath their names were Cassiopeia's and Leo's. Harry realized he couldn't take the tapestry out of the wards anymore. He also realized that this should be returned to the Blacks. It wasn't as if he had any use for it. Sirius' name wasn't even on there and the more he looked at that burn mark, the more upset he became. Harry took some leftover ribbon he had used to wrap Ginny's present, folded the tapestry carefully so that none of the magical embroidery was visible, and tied it up with a bow. He took a piece of parchment and made a tag which he attached to the ribbon. He then summoned Cedar and had her take the gift to the Black house to be placed under their Christmas tree. Next, in order to stop feeding his guilt about Sirius' death, Harry went flying.

The following day, Harry was sitting on his porch when Regulus stopped by. He looked oddly casual with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up above the elbows and a wizard's robe nowhere in sight. As he climbed the steps to Harry's porch, Harry noticed the Dark Mark clearly visible on his forearm. He also noticed a cotton wad taped to his arm as if he had received a jab in a muggle doctor's office.

"Electra asked me to stop by on my way home. She wanted to visit herself but I threatened to spike her tea with a sleeping potion if she didn't go to bed voluntarily. She's been working a lot this week with all the children coming down with vanishing sickness," Regulus said via his enchanted quill.

"Could you tell her I appreciate her concern?"

"Of course. I also brought you a gift. You may open it on Midwinter or wait until Christmas, whichever you prefer."

"Thank you," Harry said, taking the gift and summoning Cedar to take it to the tree in the Dining Room.

"What's the bandage on your arm for?" Harry asked curiously. He didn't think wizards needed jabs.

"I was just fixing up Yule gifts for two of my friends who happen to be vampires."

"You let them drink your blood?"

"Yes. It's not all that uncommon around the holidays. The hospital is used to such things. I stop by every Yule and have some blood taken, packaged, and delivered to my friends for the holidays."

"What do they do in between holidays?" Harry asked.

"Well, Zarah is quite fond of cows' blood but Irina says nothing is as good as humans' blood. She works at a muggle blood bank and takes a bit every once in a while. She still complains that it isn't as pure as what wizards could give, however. Apparently muggles use chemicals in blood storage that have a rather odd aftertaste."

"Oh. It's nice of you to give them that then."

"That's purely a gift of friendship. I wouldn't give my blood to a vampire I don't know... what if they developed a fondness for my flavor?"

"I see," Harry said with a smile.

"How has your holiday been so far?"

"Boring. I don't have anything to do," Harry complained.

Regulus laughed. "I remember when I used to consider having nothing to do boring. If I could only a few days of doing nothing..."

Harry rolled his eyes at the older man.

Regulus laughed again. "I know, I know. I don't usually partake in the 'Children Today' stories; I've just had a very busy day."

"What did you do?" Harry asked.

"Well, this afternoon alone, I went to Llewllan to help the werewolves clear the field where the celebration will be held. It was still a bit damp from the snow. After that, I went to the Governors' office in Neidrham to pay my family's taxes and stopped at the hospital to have blood taken. Now I'm here to check up on you."

"Sorry to add to your work load," Harry said seriously.

"Don't be ridiculous. You're no burden. I came to satisfy Electra that you are in good health and to invite you to my family's supper on Midwinter's Eve."

"Oh," Harry said. "I'd like that."

"Wonderful. Stop by around 8 pm the day after tomorrow."

"Ok."

Regulus smiled. "I should be getting home. My children can't be left with only the elves' supervision for too long, particularly now that they both know how use of their wands."

Regulus stood and was about to gather up his quill when he stopped and added, "Have you taken care of your elf?"

"What?" Harry asked.

"Your house elf is owed an allotment of new garments, candles, blankets, and anything else she might need at least once a year. Around Yule is the customary time."

"I didn't know that."

"Ask her. She'll know what she needs and house elves are never greedy so you can trust her requests."

"Thanks for mentioning that. I wouldn't have known."

"No problem. I really should take my leave now, however. See you soon."

"Bye."

Regulus gathered up his quill and parchment and left. Harry went inside to find Cedar and made a list of the things she needed. She offered to take the list to the store when she went grocery shopping that evening so Harry gave it to her. He made sure to specify on the list that she was to dress nicely and choose good quality things for herself. He would not have it said that he wasn't kind to his house elf.

//-//-//-//-//-

On Midwinter's Eve at 8 pm, Harry stood on the Black's doorstep and knocked at the door. He was met by Electra and shown to the kitchen where Leo was busy peeling potatoes and Cassie was stirring the contents of a pot on the stove. There were no elves in sight. Harry guessed the Blacks had given them the day off but was surprised to find out that it was a custom in Eyrie's Edge and the other villages to give all of one's house elves off beginning at 3 pm on Midwinter's Eve and ending at noon on Midwinter. Having given Cedar the whole day off (and been surprised when she accepted), Harry hadn't known that.

Harry immediately took up another vegetable peeler and helped Leo with the potatoes. A few minutes later, Regulus appeared with an enormous jar of peach preserves and an ice cream maker. The children abandoned their tasks temporarily to help make the ice cream but were soon back at work alongside their mother. Within half-an-hour, dinner was on the table. After a brief prayer that was unfamiliar to Harry, everyone was eating cheerfully.

After supper, Harry and the Blacks cleared the table and set the dishes to washing themselves. Once that was finished, they put on their cloaks and lit their wands for the walk to the village portkeys. They waited their turn to travel to Llewllan alongside a steady stream of neighbors. Harry managed to land on his feet and step clear of the traffic when they arrived in Llewllan and was immediately astonished by how different it looked from his summer visit on market day.

The square was full of cheerful people in warm clothing with their wands lit moving in the same direction. Harry and the Blacks followed the crowd out of the square and off of Main Street across from a large black building with a sign that read Cruentus Sepulchrum. They turned down a lane of dark houses, many of which had vampires on the porch, enjoying the darkness and the company, some sipping wine glasses of blood and others talking loudly with friends. At the end of the lane, a strange glow and the sounds of celebration marked their destination.

Halfway down the lane, the road split in three. Though the crowds took the middle fork, Harry looked down both of the side roads as he passed. To the left there was a large wooden building with lights on inside. There was a sign over the door but all Harry could make out was a painted moon. Off to each side of the building, a waist-high stone fence wandered out of sight. It bore signs that were brightly lit: "Do not cross!" or "Powerful wards in place!" or "Caution; Werewolves!" In contrast, the road that led off to the right seemed empty except for signposts that labeled each side-road. Though Harry didn't know it, those roads led to clusters of werewolves' homes, fields, barns, and pastures.

At the end of the middle lane, Harry saw a few hundred people of all ages gathered in small groups seated in the grass, dancing in the great open space around twenty or so musicians and several singers, walking between the many bonfires, or taking the children from one game to the next. Harry vaguely noticed that Leo and Cassie ran off towards the apple bobbing but his attention was mostly elsewhere. In particular, he was interested in the short, pointy figures seated between a large lake and the smallest of the bonfires. It took him a moment to realize that there were more than a hundred house elves there. They were eating and laughing and dancing to the same music as their masters and also minding all of the bonfires.

Electra saw where he was staring open-mouthed and explained. "The elves are feasting as well. They celebrate Midwinter just like the rest of us, though they also tend the fires."

"Is that fair? Wizards could just as easily watch the fires, couldn't we?" Harry asked.

"Don't let a house elf hear you say that," Electra cautioned. "They consider it an honor to be entrusted with such an important duty. The fires are not just wood and flame, but also the Yule log of each home in our villages - even the ones without their own house elf. By allowing the elves to be solely responsible for the Yule logs, we are proving our trust in them."

"I don't understand," Harry said. "What do you mean by 'proving our trust'?"

"A household's Yule log must be kept burning all night, from dusk today until dawn tomorrow, in order for the family to have good luck in the coming year - and that's not just superstition. It's an important enough responsibility that some people might be inclined to watch their log themselves but by giving over that duty to the elves, we are showing that we trust them to do this important thing without being watched or threatened with punishment."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense. I don't know that I believe the bit about luck from a log though."

"You will. Those who practice the traditions do have better luck than those who don't. I expect you'll notice the difference soon enough. Let's find a free bit of grass with a view of the dancers," she said before turning and leading her husband and Harry through the crowd.

Harry did his best to keep up as he wove amongst merrymakers. Crowds that parted for Electra or Regulus ignored Harry and it wasn't long before Harry lost sight of the Blacks. Without them, Harry felt the discomfort of being surrounded by Death Eaters and their families return. No one was hostile, in fact, most people were ignoring him, but he still preferred the company of the Blacks. As he squeezed his way through the crowds, he grew more and more nervous, so much so that he jumped and spun around when his shoulder was tapped. Luckily, it was Aly. He offered her his arm, breathing the comfort and familiarity. Phoenixes were comforting creatures, he decided.

Harry looked around, trying to find something to do. He saw a man seated at a table set with all sorts of herbs and a small portable fire reading tealeaves for a young woman. Harry wandered over just as the woman left.

"Would you like your future read, young man?" the man behind the table asked.

"Err, I don't think so," Harry replied.

"Sure you do. All services are provided free tonight only. It's a good night for readings, of course. Perhaps I can interest you in my specialty: Dreamer's Sage."

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"Dreamer's Sage? It's an herb, of course, and one of the most powerful mediums in herbal omens: ten times more focused than tea leaves."

"Err, ok. Why not?" Harry said, stepping up to the table.

The man passed him a mortar and pestle of a very black granite. Into the bowl, he dropped a fresh and a dried leaf.

"Grind those to your liking but go no finer than a coarse powder."

Harry did as he was asked, stopping when the fresh leaf was a thick pulp and the dried one had been broken into five fairly large pieces. He passed the vessel back to the man who took it and carefully poured it into a cup that contained a few drops of water. He held the cup up to Harry.

"Blow over the surface," he ordered.

Harry did so and watched as a few smaller pieces of leaf blew away.

"Good," the man said. He took the cup back and quickly upended it over the portable fire. The flames sputtered and hissed as the contents of the cup hit and then the man said, "Concentrate on your current goal, desire, or wish and ask for guidance."

Harry focused on his wish that the war would end and watched as the smoke and flames curled into shapes.

"You are an ambitious one," the man began. "Whatever it was that you focused on, it won't be easy and you will have to work for it. Keep your eyes and your heart open or you may miss assistance from unexpected places. You would do best to distance yourself from your current girlfriend; she may pretend to support you in this dream but her path will take her somewhere else entirely. You have several influential friends that will prove decisive as you move from your current indecision. The success of this dream is not entirely in your hands; in fact, you are only a small part. Your role is as a connector. Trust your judgment but be ready for surprises."

The man looked up and added, "Good luck. I don't envy you a reading like that one. Most people ask how they will meet their true love. I think that may be the most somber reading I've done all night."

Harry sighed and nodded. "Thank you," he said, before turning and walking away.

A few meters away, a woman stood over an empty cauldron. She was quite popular with the young children. Each time a child approached her, she would bend down and reach into her cauldron and pull out a gift. One boy got a miniature Hogwarts Express; another received a book. Both boys seemed immensely pleased with their gifts. Harry approached to ask how it worked.

"Excuse me," he said. "How does your cauldron work?"

The short woman smiled up at him. "I enchanted it myself. Back when I went to Hogwarts, I spent every spare minute I had studying the spells on a place called the Room of Requirement from the day I discovered it in my third year. On Midwinter of my sixth year, I managed to create this cauldron using the same spells. Unfortunately, it only works one day a year but the things it creates last and can exist outside the cauldron so it pleases the children to no end."

She reached in and pulled out a gift for Harry. She passed it up and Harry took it in his hand and looked at it: a red garnet inside a ring of black opal. He looked down at the woman confusedly.

"What is it?" he asked.

"A Truth Stone," she replied. "Hold it in your fist when you talk with someone and it will warm gently each time they lie."

"Oh," Harry said excitedly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, sonny," she said happily.

Harry tucked the stone in his cloak pocket and left the woman to the three young girls that wanted her attention. As they passed a table where three women with small crescent moons and canine footprints tattooed on the back of each hand passed out warm spiced cider and cinnamon cakes as well as assorted fruits stuffed with cloves, Aly chirped farewell to Harry and went to perch on the table and beg for an apple.

Harry snorted something along the lines of "So that's where your priorities lay," before shaking his head and continuing on among the tables and other celebrators. He came upon a familiar face as he drew nearer to the largest bonfire. Daphne was seated beside a man who family resemblance suggested was probably her father. Around the man, there were several young children, a pair of teens, and three adults listening as he told a story about two kings whose battle was reflected in the changing of the seasons. When the Dark King won, Harry's enjoyment of the tale faded. He listened as Mr. Greengrass finished the tale by saying that even though the Dark won the battle, the war never ends and the Dark must respect the Light King because they are both strong and the next battle it may be the Light King's turn to win.

The audience applauded the end of the tale and left the priest and his daughter alone with Harry.

"Hello, Harry," Daphne said when she noticed him.

"Hi."

"Father, this is Harry Potter. Harry, this is my father, Kenneth Greengrass. Most people call him Ayr, though; it's like a Catholic calling a priest 'Father'," she said.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Potter. Did you like the story?"

"Does the Dark King always win like that?" Harry asked.

Ayr Greengrass chuckled. "At Samhain and Midwinter, he does. At Beltaine and Midsummer, it is the Light King who wins. We must all remember that when we find ourselves with power over another. Before we know it, it may be that the tides have turned."

"Does that include muggles?" Harry asked.

"It certainly does," the Ayr answered. "No one is excluded, irregardless of the political climate at the moment. The gods would have it no other way."

Harry nodded. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Electra there.

"Hello, Ayr. Harry, I'm glad you found Ayr Greengrass. Harry is just beginning to learn about wizard culture and religion."

"I'm glad," the Ayr said. "I would be pleased to offer counsel, should you find yourself with a spiritual problem, young man." He drew his wand and cast an illusion in the air. It showed a small building that was decorated on all surfaces with statues and paintings of gods and goddess from many different cultures.

"Just look for this building on Main Street in Neidrham. If I am not in, one of my colleagues will be equally willing to help you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Harry said.

"Thank you, Ayr. Harry, would you like to join me," Electra said.

Harry nodded and said goodbye to the Greengrasses before following Electra back towards the dancers and among those watching the dances and songs. They stopped where a blanket was spread on the ground and a woman was waiting.

"There you are Electra. I wondered where you had disappeared to," the woman said.

Harry suddenly recognized her: Narcissa Malfoy.

"Come sit, both of you," she said.

Electra sat and pulled the reluctant Harry down beside her.

"Err, are Mr. Malfoy and Draco around?" Harry asked nervously.

"No. They were quite pleased to accept invitations to a Ministry dinner party this evening. I rather preferred to represent the Malfoy family here," Narcissa answered with an aristocratic smile.

"It's a shame you can't spend the holiday as a family," Electra said.

"Well, I don't expect this celebration would have met my husband's exacting standards."

"Your husband can certainly be a wand-in-the-mud sometimes," Electra said.

"That he can," Narcissa agreed.

Harry was surprised. Mrs. Malfoy wasn't nearly as arrogant as he had expected from seeing her with her husband and son.

"That sort of power is useful with the career politicians he handles at the Ministry but it's nice to let one's hair down every now and then," Narcissa said. "I do wish Draco had come with me though. That boy needs a good talking to and I know just the priest to do it."

"Ayr Sullivan?" Electra guessed.

"Precisely. Oh, there he is now. If you'll excuse me for a moment, I really must speak with him," she said, standing gracefully and disappearing into the crowd behind Electra.

"Are you enjoying the celebration, Harry?" Electra asked him.

"Yeah," he replied.

"I wish you could have seen Samhain. It's even better since it's a more important holiday."

"But Midwinter is important too, isn't it?" Harry asked.

"Not nearly as much as Samhain or even Beltaine, but the children aren't home then so Midwinter and Midsummer are bigger parties than they might be otherwise."

"Oh. What are Beltaine and Midsummer like?'

"They're not quite as well attended around here. Light wizards usually have bigger celebrations on those days. There are a few Light wizards among us. Those festivals are during the day, of course."

They were interrupted by the return of Narcissa, followed shortly by the appearance of Leo, who sat himself down next to Electra and rested his head on her shoulder. He was clearly tired. A few minutes later, Regulus found them. He was carrying a sleeping Cassie in his arms. He woke her long enough to set her down next to her brother and then spoke to Electra and his cousin Narcissa using his sign language. He said he would be going home with the children. Harry said goodnight and Narcissa gave a very formal "It was most wonderful to celebrate the holiday with you, my cousin," before smiling and hugging him warmly.

Regulus smiled back and signed something Harry didn't understand before turning to his children and making sure they were awake enough to walk. They then made for the portkey to Eyrie's Edge so they could go home.

It wasn't much later that Harry decided to excuse himself and take his portkey home. He took as little time as possible getting himself into bed. That night, he dreamed the now familiar dream of the forest and the stag. He was walking on a dirt path through the woods with the stag when the path split into two forks. He looked to the stag, hoping for some indication of which way was right but the stag only bowed its head and gently nudged Harry towards the intersection with its nose. Harry stood there for a long time, totally indecisive, until the dream faded and he woke up and did his best to amuse himself as the approach of Christmas reminded him or where he was not and who he was not with.


	17. Hart to Heart?

Christmas Eve saw Harry sitting in one of the rocking chairs on his porch, drinking hot chocolate, wrapped in a quilt, and staring blankly into the distance. He had not been so lonely over Christmas vacation since he started at Hogwarts. He had not received a single present but this he had expected since he was supposed to be at Privet Drive behind impenetrable wards and he had not given his friends any notice to get him his gifts before hand. When he began his second pot of hot chocolate, his loneliness had still not dissipated.

Harry's self-pity was interrupted, however, by the sight of Professor Snape walking up the lane and stopping at Harry's front gate, several wrapped Christmas presents levitating ahead of him.

"Hello, Professor Snape," Harry called as Snape strode up the front walk.

Snape merely scowled. When he reached the porch, he nodded curtly. "Potter," he began, "you are extremely lucky that I was present at last night's Order meeting or your Aunt's home would currently be playing host to Molly Weasley and Lupin."

The dour potions master set the presents down on the ground with a flick of his wand and said, "You should summon your house elf to take this inside. I believe the blue parcel is some sort of food."

Harry snapped his fingers and called for Cedar, asking the elf to take the presents to the dining room where Harry had a miniature Christmas tree.

When the elf was gone once more, and the presents with her, Snape spoke again in his usual caustic manner. "Do not make a habit of relying on me to provide your cover. I only just managed to convince your fan club that visiting you in Surrey would not be in your best interest."

"How did you?" Harry asked, curious as to how anyone could convince Molly Weasley not to do something like visiting her almost-son on Christmas.

"By pointing out that the muggles would hardly allow you visitors, especially ones bearing gifts, who did not obviously make you miserable," Snape replied in a clipped tone.

Harry smiled sadly. "That's actually true." After a moment's frown, feeling that he might do well to be polite even though he doubted that Snape would appreciate it, Harry gestured to empty rocking chair beside him and asked, "Would you like a seat, or do you have to get back to your family?"

Snape's eyes narrowed but then his expression relaxed unexpectedly and he took the offered seat with a nod.

Harry was shocked but recovered enough of his manners to offer Snape a mug of hot chocolate, which the man declined with a mild glare and terse, "No," and one of the lap quilts Harry had been using himself. Snape accepted that with a slight bow of his head before draping it over his lap from waist to toe.

For a long moment, no one spoke, but then Harry said, "I'm sorry... about invading your privacy... looking in your pensieve."

Snape scowled and nearly got up to leave. He stopped himself and instead said, "It was unforgivable."

Harry sighed. "The way I see it, it wasn't too different from what you were doing with my own memories. Sure you were trying to teach me Occlumency but I doubt you missed that forcing me to relive my childhood did more harm than good."

"The two situations are nothing alike," Snape insisted.

Harry waved his hand in a gesture of defeat. "I accept that you can't forgive me and I know that I have no excuse. I just wanted to apologize."

Snape pursed his lips. "So noted."

An uncomfortable silence fell between them for a minute until Snape changed the subject. "It is likely a bad time to ask you this, as you are alone on a holiday, but how do you like Eyrie's Edge?"

Harry relaxed and gave a tiny smile. "I really love it, actually. It's so peaceful. I don't think I could stand to never leave the wards but I do enjoy having a little sanctuary. It's somewhere I can go knowing that only people I trust can find me here and that I'm about as safe as I can be even just taking a walk.

"The only other place I know that feels like this is Hogwarts..."

Harry paused and let his gaze return to the distant horizon before adding, "Or at least it did."

Snape gave him a shrewd look, which Harry ignored in favor of continuing to stare off into the distance

"What do you mean?" Snape asked.

Harry sighed and looked back at Snape. "I guess I just don't trust people there as much as I used to. Granted I still wouldn't walk around here without my wand and I know better than to believe everything the people here tell me but at least I know that I can be myself here and no one will try to change me."

Snape held Harry's eyes with his own for a moment. "Of whom are you speaking?"

Harry looked at the ground, then took a sip of his hot chocolate before answering. "Headmaster Dumbledore, for one, but it's not just him. I don't know who to believe anymore. I spent five years in the wizarding world believing everything that Dumbledore told me, everything that the Weasleys and Remus and Sirius told me... or close to everything. And suddenly, I found out that it was a half-truth at best."

"And yet, you can't necessarily believe what you are told here either. Prejudices still apply; they are simply different," Snape pointed out.

Harry nodded, frowning slightly, eyes again distant. "That's very true. I suppose the difference, for me at least, is that I expect to have to weigh what people here tell me. I never thought to doubt what Dumbledore said and did. I have only myself to blame for that kind of blind faith."

After a moment's silence, Snape spoke. "May I ask what it was that brought on this epiphany?"

Harry scowled at a cloud casting its shadow over the snow-dusted town and distant valley farms below.

"How do I know you won't take everything I tell you back to the Headmaster? You know, despite the fact that you seem to fit in pretty well here and your family lives here, you always were hard to read. In the spirit of my new-found distrust, perhaps you are actually spying on me for the Order."

One corner of Snape's mouth quirked up. "I suppose it doesn't help that you have met my phoenix," he mused.

Harry's jaw dropped. "Aly's yours?"

Snape snorted quietly in a rather amused sort of way. "She is. I'm surprised that you hadn't found out already. I am sure the Blacks would have told you had you asked. My wife was the one writing you, by the way. She had tried an owl but, as you know, the only magical or enchanted creatures that the wards will allow through are house elves like Dobby and phoenixes like Fawkes, so she borrowed Aly to write you with."

"You do raise a valid point," Snape admitted, a bit painfully, after a moment. "I don't believe there is a way to convince you which side I am on. You will have to make your own judgment."

Snape paused, then said slowly and quietly, "I joined the Dark Lord a year and four months before the Shadow Massacre... you have been told about that, I trust..." He continued after receiving Harry's sad confirmation, "It was before I had even left school. The third round of closed-door debates within the British Ministry of Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards over the secret legislation Dumbledore wished to propose were common knowledge among certain circles. I had made my decision when I first found out about the bills from Regulus, who's mother had been sharing her memories of the decade worth of debates with everyone she knew in an effort to rally opposition. My own father was proof enough for me that wizards are safer without the muggles knowing about us.

"My father was a muggle, and an abusive man. My mother insisted that she was happy with him, despite giving up her right to inherit from her blood-purist family, but even she would admit that learning what she was had changed him. It only got worse when I started showing signs of magic. I know that all muggles aren't like that but there are enough who are, and even more who are too curious about how magic, and wizards, work... or too demanding of trivial magical workings... or too scared of power which they can never attain nor even protect themselves against."

"But if you believed that, then why did you become a spy and fight for the Order?"

"Because the Dark Lord needed one. It was a good position because whoever took the post would be protected irregardless of the outcome of the war and I was chosen because I was the most likely candidate. It was clear that there would only be one opportunity to plant someone in the Order and I was everything that Dumbledore wanted to see in a defector.

"The Headmaster has a great many blind spots. While I grant that he truly believes in what he is doing, he can't see what is right in front of his face. I came to him as a half-blooded, young man from the inner circle of a political group that was on the edge of militancy; I was extremely poor; I had recently been chosen by a phoenix.

"And the Headmaster, one of the most brilliant and most powerful wizards alive, proved to me that he knew so very little. He was, and still is, under the impression that the Dark Lord's followers are all blood-purist, dark wizards and sadists who consider muggle-hunting and -torture a sport; that all of the 'Inner Circle' as the Headmaster calls it, is rich, old magic blood. And perhaps his biggest mistake of all is that he believes phoenixes to be creatures of the Light rather than merely intelligent and loyal pets... so much so, in fact, that when he accepted me, he ordered me to send Alabaster away for my own safety, believing that if any of my fellows saw her that I would be discovered."

Snape shook his head. "I suppose, to return to your original question, that aside from saying that I will not betray your new independence to the Headmaster, I can only tell you that you and I feel similarly about these towns and I have no wish to admit to the Headmaster that I know where they are and who lives in them."

Snape met Harry's curious gaze and smirked crookedly. "That was excellent evasion, Mr. Potter... are you willing to answer my question? What did the Headmaster do to cause you doubt?"

Harry surveyed the view of the town and valley below and sighed softly, considering whether to trust Snape or not. Finally, he replied, "Where to start? Well, how much does Professor Dumbledore tell the Order about me?"

"Admittedly, not a great deal, Mr. Potter. In fact, my greatest sources on that particular matter were the obviously inaccurate 'common knowledge' and Molly Weasley, though she only became so after you started at Hogwarts."

Harry frowned. "Call me Harry, please."

"Very well," Snape said, his lips pulled tight in what could have been a hint of a smile or of a frown.

"I suppose the short version of the story would have to begin with the talk he and I had that ended with his office in pieces."

Harry heard a quiet, gentle, deep chuckle from Snape but did not trust himself to stop telling the story now that he found that he truly needed to share it.

"A lot was said then, much of which should stay in the past, but the relevant part was when he told me that he knew the prophecy and offered to show it to me.

"He took out his pensieve and put a memory in it, then did something to make it project the Seer's ghost, or shadow or whatever it is that records a prophecy, into the air above the pensieve.

"The prophecy that he showed me was the one made about him and Grindelwald."

"What?!" Snape growled.

Harry ignored the interjection, needing to keep the momentum of his story going if he was going to finish.

"But I didn't find out about that until August here. At the time, I believed it when Dumbledore told me that there was no doubt that I was 'the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord,' and that either I would kill or be killed. Dumbledore also saw fit to tell me that he knew 'Lord Voldemort' well enough to say that the dark, evil, maniac wizard that was hunting me wouldn't rest until I was dead or he was.

"And then Dumbledore sent me to the hospital wing where I was drugged for a day and a half, then nearly constantly surrounded by other people. After that, I got on the train to go back to my muggle relatives. The entire train ride was stressful for various reasons and then I was met at the station by Order members who promised to keep in touch and to rescue me from the muggles soon, some of them knowing that those were empty promises.

"After that, I received an owl from Gringotts saying that I had a house, this house, and that I had to stop by the bank and have the Fidelia charm transferred. To do so, I had to bribe my Aunt and Uncle but I am really glad that I did now.

"Anyways, at the bank, I learned that I had not one but three vaults and that there had been 7000 galleons removed that I knew nothing about as well as two houses sold without my knowledge. The keys being in Order hands, I am assuming that these were Dumbledore's doing, though I have to proof.

"Once I'd had the spell transferred and gotten new keys and withdrawn enough money to last a year, I went back to Privet Drive with the Dursleys and for days, I got no letters and no visits. Then Aly showed up but I only read a paragraph or two of that first letter. After that, Fawkes arrived with a nasty little letter from Dumbledore that made it sound like my fault that people were hurt or fined or dead and I got really angry... angry enough that I didn't mention the fraud or this house and the portkey that came along with it.

"The very next day, I realized that there wasn't even a guard on me because my cousin beat me up on the front lawn and there wasn't even a single footstep to show someone was watching, much less anybody intervening, while I got pounded by a heavyweight boxer.

"The second letter from Dumbledore made me feel like he was pushing me toward my death, urging me to confront Volde... sorry, the Dark Lord, sooner rather than later. My reply to that one wasn't very polite. I finally decided to read my only other mail, the letters from an anonymous Death Eater. They were so much more polite and informative than Dumbledore's letters that I actually spent time thinking about them and asked my Aunt about a few things that I thought she might know. She actually verified some of the stuff in those letters and it sort of allowed my uneasiness with Dumbledore to grow.

"Another pleasant visit from Aly and a manipulative, accusing letter from Dumbledore and I was actually beginning to think on my own, make my own decisions – not like before when I just acted without the Order because I didn't think – I actually weighed consequences of different actions I was considering. I even warned Dumbledore in my letters that I might need to defend myself against my cousin but he told me I had better not.

"So, when my cousin snuck into my room and beat me badly enough to break my leg and then invited his friends to join in, I summoned Cedar and asked her about this place and how safe she thought I would be. Actually, I tried to get her to bring a healer to me first, because I needed to have my leg mended and the Dursleys would not have taken me to a doctor, but apparently the wards wouldn't let any witch or wizard in so I decided that it was worth the danger to follow the house elf's advice over staying and getting beat up worse by my cousin's gang.

"To get away, I bribed my Aunt not to mention that I had left, sent Cedar along with my trunk, and used the family ring to portkey here. Then I wrote a letter to a healer to reveal the Secret and sent Cedar for help. She came back with Electra Black.

"From there, I expect you know or can guess a lot of the rest. I don't know if you know that Dumbledore did his best to prevent me from learning how to interpret prophecies. I don't think he expected me to continue Divination so when the class did that lesson, Dumbledore pulled me out to offer extra Occlumency and Defense lessons but I wasn't in the mood for his blatant manipulation so I refused. I also refused to start the DA again even though he all but promised me the Defense Professorship once I finished auror training – which I'm not sure I want to do anymore. I guess that's all, recently anyways."

After Harry finished his story, Snape seemed to be considering it for several minutes. Then he said, "The Headmaster will realize how grave his mistakes were in time, but you seem to have already decided not to forgive him."

Harry considered but could come to no conclusion. "Honestly, I don't know what I would do if he tried to make it up to me," he admitted.

Snape shook his head. "He took away your choice, Harry. He manipulated you into choosing his side, backed you into a corner."

Harry frowned. "But maybe I never had any choices. And besides, the prophecy was about him so he went through that and it couldn't have been too bad. Maybe he thought I would be able to handle it," Harry argued half-heartedly.

Snape scowled. "Dumbledore was in a different situation in more ways than one. He may wish now, knowing what Grindelwald did with the time it took to mount a successful resistance, that he had acted sooner, but the fact is that he did not and he likely could not have."

Harry said nothing and they sat in silence for a few minutes.

"It may be hypocritical of me to point it out but you should note that no one here is trying to manipulate you into picking one side or the other. You have been treated no differently than the other children; you have not been approached to join the fight, nor has such a move even been planned."

The only response Harry gave was a quiet scoff.

When Snape favored him with a raised eyebrow, Harry explained his gesture.

"I half think that everyone is being so nice, so normal to me, as a way to manipulate me into picking their side."

It was Snape's turn to scoff. "You are a foolish boy," he said, more fondly than insultingly. "They don't know the prophecy. Given the role your mother played in the Shadow Massacre and knowing what the press has said about you, anyone acting out of their own interests would be far more likely to shun you, wipe your memory, and send you back to the muggles. But you will notice that that is quite different from what they have done.

"I know for a fact that the first time Electra saw you she thought immediately of how obviously abused and love-starved you were but she thought not of personal gain, or gain for her cause, but of your own happiness. And later, when she had found the time to fully consider the position you had found yourself in, she, as many others here, came to see a young man who is now working through some very difficult problems in trying to reconcile his own beliefs and doubts as well as his obligations to old family and friends and his new ones.

"They do not want to make this harder on you, Harry. They are trying to ease your burden, as anyone who cares about would do."

Harry was shocked speechless. His mind was racing. Love was not something Harry had ever come to understand and it was a startling and sudden realization that part of being loved was that sometimes others put his interests and feelings before their own. It was hard to believe for a moment but then it made perfect sense.

Snape let Harry think for several minutes before speaking again.

"I might also point out that Molly Weasley certainly loves you."

Harry frowned. "I know she does," he said. But a moment later, he was asking, "But why didn't she stick up for me? She has to know what the Dursleys are like or she wouldn't have sent me food every summer or let Fred and George off for breaking me out after first year. She saw the bars from my window, for Merlin's sake."

Snape sighed and met Harry's gaze. "Harry, I do not pretend to know or understand Molly Weasley but I expect that she did not know quite the extent of what you were dealing with. Perhaps, if you believe you can trust her not to report everything to the Headmaster, you could offer her a bit more information. She would be a powerful ally and her support is obviously important to you."

"Do you think she would tell Dumbledore whatever I told her?" Harry asked nervously.

Snape scowled. "That is another question that has no easy answer. I would say that, in your position, I would not trust her to keep secrets from Dumbledore but this is another opinion that you must consider the veracity of on your own."

Harry nodded, his eyes distant as if he were looking right through Snape.

Snape could see that Harry was troubled so he let the teen think for several minutes. Eventually, he sighed and said, "Harry, while I do not know the entirety of the prophecy and I certainly would not blame you, given our history, if you did not believe me, I will tell you what I know.

"The headmaster was interviewing Sibyl Trelawney for the Divination position. They had a private room above the pub and I was in the room across the hall. I had been leaving when I heard the sound of a prophecy. I listened at the door until the barkeep happened up the stairs and threw me out for eavesdropping. This is what I heard.

"_The Bringer of peace approaches... born of the cinder flower and her hart... under the young lion..."_

"I do not know if this section is the beginning or somewhere in the middle, though it is not likely the end. It is also important to note that the word 'hart,' as in a stag, could mean your father, or the word could actually be 'heart,' meaning your mother's love."

"Thank you," Harry said.

No one spoke for a minute or two while Harry thought about the words of the piece of the prophecy.

"But if that's the prophecy, why did Dumbledore say that it could have referred to Neville as well?" Harry asked.

"Perhaps he thought the fact that Neville Longbottom was born only a day before you and the nature of the attack on Frank and Alice Longbottom would lend credence to his lie about the prophecies."

Harry remembered the Longbottoms in the closed ward in St. Mungo's and got rather green in the face. He had forgotten about them. Here he was among Death Eaters and sympathizers - the very people who had tortured two pureblood, Light aurors to insanity.

Snape saw the effect the reminder of that attack had on Harry and said carefully, "What happened to Frank and Alice will never happen to another witch or wizard. It was an incorrigible move and those who made it are dead. The Crouch family has always been quite mad, though that doesn't excuse the torturing of the Longbottoms. Those of us who remain have a greater respect for life than to waste it so."

Harry didn't believe Snape and he knew it was obvious.

"I will leave you to think things through," Snape said.

Harry nodded absently. "Thank you for visiting and for keeping me out of trouble," he said.

Snape scowled and nodded, then removed the quilt from his lap and passed it back to Harry. As Snape crossed the porch and left Harry's house behind, Harry picked up his things and went inside. He was more nervous about his surroundings than he had been in a long time. It wasn't until later that night when he came across the Truth Stone in his pocket that he was reminded once again that he was probably safe in these villages. He had only to decide how he felt about that.

//-//-//-//-//-

Christmas morning found Harry awake early and sitting at his Dining Room table unwrapping presents. He received a large box of candy from Ron, an original oil painting by Ginny of Harry playing Quidditch, and a Christmas supper under temporary preservation and miniaturization spells from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. From Hermione, he got a useful detector that warned when its owner was being followed. Hermione's accompanying note said she had added a layer of spells herself that indicated the intent of the follower. From Dumbledore, Harry received a sincere note apologizing for isolating him on Christmas and a small tin of fine lemon drops. Remus' gift was a practice Snitch and Quaffle. Along with the Quidditch supplies, Remus had sent a note saying he and the Order hoped he liked the electronic game system from the Dursleys that they had chipped in to buy for him. Lastly, the Black family's gift was a new school trunk complete with a very well hidden secret compartment. While Harry was opening it, an owl arrived from them thanking him for the family tapestry. Harry wrote a thank you note back to them for his trunk and sent it with the owl.

Aside from the letter from Remus that proved that the Dursleys were stealing money from the Order, Harry's Christmas wasn't too bad. It was a bit lonely but at least it was better than being with the Dursleys at Aunt Marge's house. Reminding himself to count his blessings, Harry set about amusing himself with his new things, reading some of the books he had inherited, and sitting on his porch.

It occurred to Harry as he lay on his porch swing one snowy morning at the end of December and thought about nothing in particular that he no longer had only death or murder to look forward to. He could relax and enjoy himself, maybe even be a little bit lazy for the first time in his life.


	18. Weasley Wrath

On the morning of the final day of holiday, Electra apparated Harry back to Little Whinging. Just half an hour later, the Order arrived with a portkey to King's Cross and Harry was on his way back to Hogwarts. The Weasley family Christmas must have been quite a party because Ron and Ginny were exhausted and slept the entire ride. Much to Hermione's annoyance, this meant that she had to cover their turns on prefect duty in the corridors. Consequently, Harry was left to his own devices. Nonetheless, he was smiling and talking with Hermione and Hannah when he walked into the Great Hall at Hogwarts.

Professor McGonagall was watching Harry. He was behaving strangely. She had grown used to seeing him act very differently after his relatives finished with him. This year had been different. She had thought perhaps whatever it was about his family that made him so eager to please everyone had ceased but she had seen the way his family talked to him at the train station and she now had an uncomfortable suspicion. She had missed something very important for many years and now something new was amiss. After supper, she summoned Harry into her office

"Have a seat Mr. Potter," she told him.

Harry sat and waited, unsure what this was about. He had certainly learned the value of listening in the last year so that was what he was going to do.

"How is your situation at home? Do your muggle relations treat you well?"

"Err, I guess. I understand why I'm supposed to stay there but..." he replied, then stopped. He needed to choose his words carefully to let Professor McGonagall know only enough to settle her concerns.

"Please continue, Mr. Potter."

"If I had the chance to escape them, I would take it," he said firmly.

"You may or may not be aware that I followed you at King's Cross before vacation. Do you know why I did that?"

"No. ma'am," Harry replied nervously.

"I had a long and unexpectedly informative talk with Professor Snape last month."

Harry looked at his feet to keep to the odd mixture of worry, curiosity, and amusement from being noticed.

"He told me that I should not believe the stories that you are spoiled and pampered at home. Having seen your relations caring for their own child, I was inclined to dismiss my colleague's concerns as false but since it was such an unusual position for Professor Snape to support, I decided to see for myself."

Harry remained silent but Professor McGonagall was content with this.

"I saw your Aunt and Uncle being quite defamatory towards you and your friends and unusually aggressive in their handling of you. I must say, Mr. Potter, that you act far more timidly in their care than you do here at school. In fact, if I were to apply my extensive experience with children, I would have to say that your behavior is symptomatic of routine abuse."

Harry met her eyes defiantly. Finally, someone from the Order was taking his welfare seriously.

"I also followed you all the way to the point where your uncle stopped the car and he and your cousin forced you out."

Harry winced. He dreaded what was coming next.

"I saw you disappear, Mr. Potter. Where did you go?"

Harry was scared. He was far too close to being found out. He started rambling, "Professor, they would have thrown me out of the car without pulling over if they could have. Even if I had gone back to Privet Drive myself, I would have been there alone all vacation, probably without any food or electricity, and I wouldn't have had healing potions for the scrapes I got when I hit the sidewalk. I..."

"Mr. Potter, please! I simply asked where you went."

Harry forced himself to take a deep breath and calm down. He needed to think.

"Err, I'd rather not say, ma'am."

"Given who you are, I expect you will understand when I insist," she said sternly.

Harry sighed. "Alright. I have a letter for you in my trunk. Can I go get it? I'll only be a moment."

She nodded so Harry stood and walked briskly, and rather shakily, to the door. He quickly made his way to his dormitory and to his trunk. He removed his cauldron and the top book to expose the letter Electra had given him for just this purpose. He took the letter and returned the book and cauldron. He was closing the lid when he decided to take along his Truth Stone as well. He kept that hidden in his left hand and quickly returned with the letter for Professor McGonagall.

The Head of Gryffindor read the long letter with her face blank. It was from Electra Langley, a former Ravenclaw that had made herself scarce not long after she finished Healer training at St. Mungo's toward the end of the first war with You-Know-Who. How Harry had managed to meet her was beyond McGonagall's imagination. The letter's news was disturbing. Harry had needed immediate medical attention over the summer and his only recourse had been a portkey to Ms. Langley's. Harry had also used the portkey over Christmas vacation.

Once she had finished the letter, Professor McGonagall turned to Harry again. "You spent most of your summer vacation and all of your Christmas vacation with your Healer?"

"Yes, Professor," Harry replied.

"Why did you feel the need to find your own healer? The Order would have provided one if we had known there was a need."

"I didn't have a chance to tell the Order that I needed a healer until it was too late to wait. Electra was all I had," Harry said, hoping he didn't sound like he was leaving things out.

"Why didn't you contact the Order?"

"I didn't have any way to. I tried to tell Professor Dumbledore that I was in danger but he said I wasn't. He told me not to fight back against my cousin either so when Dudley broke my leg and threatened to let his gang join in beating me up, I had to leave. There wasn't time to wait for Fawkes to come."

"You could not write a letter without Fawkes?"

"I couldn't send it, except by muggle mail which takes days to deliver a message. I could maybe have called Hermione's parents on the telephone and asked for Ron's phone number and tried to call Mr. Weasley but I didn't think of that at the time."

"Do you trust Ms. Langley? I know nothing of her loyalties."

Harry almost sighed with relief when the Truth Stone did not warm at McGonagall's last statement.

"I do trust her. She's taken good care of me and obviously intends to keep that up."

"Does Headmaster Dumbledore know about this?"

"No, Professor. If he did, I doubt he'd let me see her anymore."

"Why?"

"Because she allowed me to stay with her when any Order healer I might have had would have made sure I was back behind the wards at Privet Drive as soon as possible."

"No healer would have returned you to an abusive situation once you told them what you told Ms. Langley."

Harry snorted. "With all due respect, Professor, I doubt the Headmaster would have let a healer keep me away from the 'protection' of my family."

"The Headmaster may underestimate the damage a muggle can cause," she admitted reluctantly, "but he does not support child abuse."

"Professor, the wards around the Dursleys' house are based on sacrifice."

"That's right," she said, clearly not following. "Your mother's death strengthens those wards. As long as your mother's blood relations offer you protection, the wards continue."

"And they grow stronger as I am beaten by these people that supposedly love me and my mother?" he asked sarcastically. "No. The wards are founded on and strengthened by everything that I give up to live with the Dursleys. Without knowing it, I gave up being raised in the wizarding world, being loved by a family, and knowing my own past. Each summer, I give up personal safety by returning to an abusive family; I give up time with my friends and time in the wizarding world, too. This past summer, the wards were so strong that most magical creatures, including post owls and healers, couldn't cross them because I gave up all those things and all contact with my friends and most with the Order because the Headmaster controlled my mail. I imagine that when he heard I wanted to defend myself against the abuse, he was thrilled that he would be able to forbid me into sacrificing another thing to make the wards even stronger."

Harry realized he was ranting and stopped himself. He took a deep breath and tried to get control of his temper.

"Those are very serious allegations, Mr. Potter," she said.

"I know."

"You stand by them?"

"Yes."

"Then I will have to investigate your claims. In the meantime, I will not tell Professor Dumbledore about your healer. I do, however, expect you to spend as much time behind your wards as is safe whenever you are not at Hogwarts."

"Yes, ma'am," Harry replied.

"It is nearly curfew. Return to the Tower," she said wearily.

Harry couldn't get out of the office fast enough. Rather than returning to the Common Room, he went to the owlery and took a long flight in the cold wind. Afterwards, he fell into bed and hoped nothing bad would come of Professor McGonagall's investigations.

//-//-//-//-

The very next day, school resumed as normal. For a while, things were about as routine as anything ever was at a school of magic. Midway through the month, however, sixth-years' regular afternoon classes were cancelled and a pretest was scheduled. The students met in the Entrance Hall and were led to Hogsmeade by four aurors (among them, Tonks and Shacklebolt) and two Ministry apparition teachers. Once there, students were tested one by one to determine their skill level. While Harry waited his turn, he wrestled with the question of whether to throw the test or do as well as he could and come up with an excuse. He decided to do his best. If anyone questioned him, he would just have to have an excuse handy.

When it was Harry's turn, a gray-haired, hunch-backed wizard marched him off to a meadow a kilometer away and gave a brief description of how to apparate. Then, he had Harry apparate a meter's distance, then five meters, then twenty-five meters, then halfway across town, and then back to the meadow.

"Excellent work, Mr. Potter," he said as he made a notation on his clipboard. "You will be in the advanced class. You may return to the group or apparate yourself back to the gates of the school."

Harry chose to walk back to the group and wait. Ron and Hermione were eager to find out how he had done.

"So how'd you do, Harry?" Ron asked when Harry reappeared.

"Advanced level," he said.

"What!?!" Hermione shrieked. "But that can't, you can't, no..."

"You're just pulling her leg, right?" Ron asked uncertainly. "You didn't really make Advanced, did you?"

"Yeah, I did," Harry answered indignantly.

"Oh, err sorry, mate," Ron said.

"How?" Hermione asked.

"Well, you know..." Harry said noncommittally.

"No, we don't know. Ron and I are both in Beginner Level," Hermione said.

"Well, I guess I'm just a natural," Harry said uneasily.

"I don't believe you," Hermione said.

"Yeah, well you should. I apparated onto the roof of my primary school before I even knew I was a wizard so why shouldn't I make Advanced level," Harry defended, hoping to put them off pressing the issue.

They both stared open-mouthed at Harry.

"Err, ok," Hermione finally said. "Sorry."

"I guess you're just a special case again, Harry. I mean, all you need is the spell and you can do it. I hope you appreciate how rare that is. Most of the people that'll be in your class have practiced apparition and probably been tutored in it," Ron said, attempting to be casual.

"Great," Harry said sarcastically. He wanted to get away. He had been feeling that way more and more lately, anxious and cornered whenever people skirted the secrets he needed to keep from becoming public knowledge.

"I'm going to head back," Harry said.

"Don't you think you should wait?" Hermione said, looking at the professors watching the students and their surroundings carefully.

"The instructor said I could apparate back to the edge of the wards. I'll be safer back at Hogwarts."

Without waiting, Harry stepped back and disapparated, appearing a few steps from the gate of the school. Not feeling up to the long walk up the slope to the castle, he made sure no one was watching and slipped into the shadows of the edge of the Forbidden Forest and changed into eagle form. The flight to the castle was short but finding a place to change back wasn't. Eventually, Harry chose to land near the vegetable patch. He then walked the rest of the way to the castle's front door.

That night, Ron again asked Harry about the apparition test.

"You haven't been sneaking out of school to practice apparition, have you, mate?"

"No." Harry said.

"Professor Dumbledore asked me to find out. He was worried that you might have and that's how you made the advanced class."

"I haven't. I told you what must have happened."

"I know. I told Professor Dumbledore that. He said that was probably it and you're such a powerful wizard that things like this just happen for you. I wanted to make sure, though. I wouldn't want to miss out on any adventures," Ron said.

"Don't worry," Harry said nervously before excusing himself to get ready for bed. Lying to one's friends was stressful work.

//-//-//-//-//-//-

On the first day of apparition lessons, Harry parted ways with Ron and Hermione to join the advanced class meeting at the train station. He wasn't surprised to see that the class was mostly Slytherins. There were also some Ravenclaws including Michael Corner, and two Hufflepuffs including Hannah Abbott. Harry was, uncomfortably, the only Gryffindor. Wary of the looks he received from Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson, Harry stood close to Hannah and Michael and watched his back. As soon as everyone had gathered around the professor, the lesson began.

"This course will run every afternoon before supper for the next three weeks," the teacher wheezed in a grating, nasal voice. "It will cover long-distance apparition, Side-along Apparition, and noise minimization. If you cannot keep up, Mr. Newsome has space in his Intermediate class. Are there any questions before we begin? Good. Form groups of three."

Harry, Hannah, and Michael formed their own group.

"From this point on, you are to travel everywhere with your group. I have four rules. Break one once and you will not be in my class again.

"Number 1: Never apparate anywhere without both of your partners unless there has been an accident in which case, both of you are to return to me immediately and report the problem.

"Number 2: Do not waste class time for anything. If you are not where you are supposed to be, it had better be because of an accident. If you go gallivanting around Scotland like you're on holiday, you will have to explain yourself to the Headmaster.

"Number 3: Do not attempt to perform any of these spells without explicit permission from and the direct supervision of myself or my colleagues. I will decide when you are ready to progress.

"Number 4: Do not require me to call the Obliviators or the Reversal Squad. I am trained to mend simple splinches. For your sake and mine, do not do yourself more harm than that. Furthermore, do not miss your destination. If any muggle minds need erased, I will be disappointed and when I am disappointed, you will be getting to know Mr. Newsome.

"Questions? Then let's begin."

Every student was then handed a map and a set of directions, reminded of Ministry laws regarding apparition, and taught how to soften the noise associated with disapparition. As the students practiced, the professor bounced back and forth between the station and the destination on the other side of Hogsmeade village. Nearly two hours later, the advanced class walked through the school gates and back to the castle significantly later than the beginner and intermediate classes whose students did not have the stamina for two hours of near constant apparition. Even still, the advanced class shuffled tiredly into the Great Hall where supper had already begun. Harry ate slowly and stayed at the supper table late.

By the time Harry returned to the Gryffindor Common Room, it seemed Dumbledore had been talking to Ginny because the youngest Weasley was convinced that Harry had been studying without his best friends' knowledge. When Harry told her the same story he had told Hermione and Ron, she persisted with her allegations and Harry did what he usually did and tried to run away. Unfortunately, Ginny was tired of that. She blocked Harry's path and demanded to know what was wrong.

"Harry, what is wrong with you? You're always running away from me and you do it to Ron and Hermione too."

"Ginny, I don't want to talk about it now," Harry replied.

"Too bad! I want to hear it now before I let you go or I might not get the chance again since you keep avoiding me."

"Ginny," Harry warned. He had considered telling her the same things he had told Hermione but after her reaction to the mere reminder of Samhain, he knew she wasn't to be trusted with his thoughts.

"Don't _Ginny_ me! Talk to me. I'm your girlfriend and I deserve to know what's going on."

Harry grimaced but then straightened and plucked up his courage. "I don't want to be your boyfriend, Ginny," he said quietly.

"What did you say?!" she whispered. "You're breaking up with me? Why? Harry, I love you."

"It's for the best that we end it here," Harry said.

"No, please. We can work it out," Ginny begged.

"I don't want to," Harry said.

Ginny burst into tears and fled the room, the eyes of curious students following her as she stumbled through the portrait hole. Harry felt bad for making her cry but at the same time he was relieved to have ended the uncomfortable relationship. He really hoped he hadn't damaged his relationship with the Weasley family. Unfortunately, his fears came to pass all too quickly.

After only a few minutes, Ron appeared in the portrait hole and stalked over to Harry.

"What the hell did you do to her!?!" Ron screamed.

Harry scowled up at his red-faced friend. "Ginny? I broke up with her."

Ron promptly punched Harry.

"You arse! You think you can just throw her away?! She's crying her eyes out and you're telling me you 'broke up' with her like whatever happened was no big deal!"

Ron kept punching Harry which made the Boy Who Lived quite angry. Some friend Ron was to attack him for stopping what Hermione had called "toying with Ginny's feelings." The two boys brawled until Dean, Seamus, Neville, and two seventh-year boys pulled them apart and Hermione went to get Professor McGonagall.

The lecture the two boys got was an impressive one. The detentions they had earned were even more impressive. As Flitwick's dueling student, Ron was punished by the Charms professor. He was given a lengthy personal training schedule that had him running himself to exhaustion every evening for a month. Harry thought that wasn't fair; surely Flitwick would have had Ron in such training eventually, punishment or not. Besides, it was light work compared to what Harry was given: a month of whatever jobs Filch could come up with to fill his evenings. Whenever the caretaker didn't have a disgusting enough job for Harry, the boy was loaned out to other staff members with nasty jobs. Harry did things like cleaning the bedpans in the Hospital Wing without magic, moving wheelbarrows of manure from the pile Hagrid kept near the thestrals' favorite clearing to the compost pile between the kitchen gardens and the herbology greenhouses, de-gutting various dead reptiles for potions ingredients, and playing practice dummy to any defense students that needed tutoring from the professor. Between that work and the apparition lessons, it was all Harry could do to stay awake long enough to shower each night before falling into bed.

Hermione was so angry at her friends for fighting, she didn't talk to either of them any more than was absolutely necessary, preferring to spend her time with Ginny helping the younger girl study for OWLs. Harry wondered who would crack first, Hermione or Ron. He certainly had no intentions of apologizing.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore was pleased. He had been truly worried about Harry's attitude. Ever since the incident in the Head's Office, Harry had been dangerously non-confrontational. Of course, there had been that argument early in December when Dumbledore had tried to provoke Harry into another violent outburst by forbidding him from attending the Weasley family's Christmas party. If the boy had just broken something, Dumbledore would have given in but Harry had remained in his chair, using words only, not even threatening. The savior of the Light could not fight the war against Voldemort if he couldn't even break a piece of furniture when he was provoked. Perhaps the boy had just needed time to get over the losses of the previous term. It was also possible there was more going on - after all, the teenage years were confusing way back when Dumbledore had experienced them and they were surely just as bad or worse in the present situation.

Rather then allow the punishments to deter Harry from similar behavior in the future, Dumbledore put a stop to the detentions at the end of the second week. Against Dumbledore's wishes, Professor McGonagall made it a condition of the Headmaster's decree that Ron and Harry talk through their dispute. She sat them down in her office and told them she would be in the next room listening for any sign that their conversation had become violent.

So, Harry and Ron glared at each other for seven and a half minutes before Ron's patience wore out.

"Are you going to explain yourself?" he challenged.

"What about you?! You punched me first! What was that about? Did you mistake me for Malfoy or something?!" Harry spat back.

Ron ground his teeth together. "You're the one with incentive to make this thing work. If I walk away now, I'll only have to work out more. You'll probably be scrubbing floors with your toothbrush next."

Harry scowled and hated that Ron was right. "I don't want a girlfriend right now. You have no right to tell me otherwise."

"I do too when that girl's my sister!" Ron yelled.

"How is Ginny ever going to date when you try to attack any bloke that looks at her?!"

"Hey! I was all for you dating Ginny, and so was my Mum!"

"Well good for you! Too bad I don't want to date Ginny."

"Then why'd you agree to go out with her in the first place!?!" Ron shouted angrily.

"I don't know!" Harry growled.

"You had to have a reason!"

"Alright! I'm man enough to admit I'd like to keep from getting hexed by her!"

To Harry's surprise, Ron snickered rather nastily. "Yeah. She was pretty close to hexing you when she couldn't get you to stay still long enough to ask you out."

"You see what I mean?!"

"But that's not a reason! Have you been cheating on her?! I know Hermione followed you on those late night trips you take and she wouldn't tell me where you go!"

"I never cheated on her!"

"Then where do you go?!" Ron challenged.

"I don't want to talk about it," Harry said.

"I don't really care what you want! Not where my sister's involved!" Ron said loudly.

"That's not what we're supposed to talk about," Harry said firmly.

"You can't tell me why you don't want to date Ginny and you won't tell me where you go at night. Is that how you treat your friends?" Ron asked angrily.

"I can tell you about me and Ginny... it's over because I want it over. I don't want to date anyone right now."

"But Ginny wants you now. Can't you make it work? You might not get another chance with her. Girls are like that, you know. You've got to make things work on their schedule."

"I don't want to date your sister, Ron."

"Why not?" Ron asked indignantly.

"You mean aside from the fact that I fear the scorn of the Weasley clan if I was to date her and it ended badly?"

"Right, aside from that," Ron said seriously.

"She and I want different things, Ron. Mostly, she wants to talk about everything and I just want her to not bring stuff up. I mean, there are things I can't say to her, like I can't talk about the war at all because she wouldn't agree with what I have to say and would probably get offended..."

"Hold up," Ron interrupted. "Harry, you're not making any sense. What are you talking about?"

"I don't want to join the Order, Ron. I don't want to fight."

"But you're The Boy Who Lived."

"Shut up! Do you have to remind me?" Harry shouted. He then realized and ran a hair nervously through his hair.

"Sorry," Harry said. "It's really stressful trying to keep what I think secret all the time."

"So don't," Ron said. He had abandoned angry-older-brother mode but he seemed to have adopted 'petulant child' instead.

"I can't. Think what Dumbledore would do if he knew I didn't want to fight for him."

Ron looked like he was going to snap something disagreeable again but then he changed his mind and said, "Yeah. That'd be bad." Then, his eyes narrowed and he looked suspiciously at Harry. "Wait, why don't you want to fight for the Order?"

Harry ground his teeth and mentally kicked himself. He had walked right into the conversation he had been trying so hard to avoid.

"I don't have anything against muggles and muggleborns, you know, but I don't want to tell muggles about magic. Did you know that's what Dumbledore wants?"

"I knew," Ron replied uncomfortably.

"I don't understand that. I mean, why can't wizards have our own culture, celebrate our own holidays, and keep our secrets?"

"Hey, mate, it's impossible to grow up a Weasley and not know that muggles aren't that bad," Ron said evasively.

"I agree with you there, but what do you think about the rest?"

"Harry, I really think Professor Dumbledore has the right idea. I mean, muggleborns are the same as we are, right?"

"Yes, but that doesn't have anything to do with the Statue of Secrecy."

"Man, you're right... don't mention that around Ginny. I don't know what she would do. Girls; I just don't get them sometimes."

Harry accepted Ron's evasion for the moment. "Look, that's fine. I'm not going to push my opinion on you. Just don't mention it, especially to Dumbledore, ok?"

"I won't say anything. Well, can I talk to Hermione, if she'll let me, that is?"

"Sure."

"Ok. Maybe you should too. It might help you to come around again," Ron said encouragingly.

But it wasn't Harry doing the coming around. Ron went to talk to Hermione and they spent more than an hour debating before they took their discussion to the library so Hermione could reference the books she had read. For the rest of the day, Ron walked around looking like his mind was very busy elsewhere. Every time Hermione asked him what was wrong, he said he needed to think.

While Ron thought, Harry was informed via messenger from Dumbledore that another prospective tutor was scheduled to visit the following evening. So, on the right day and at the appropriate time, Harry, who was already a bit tired from increasingly difficult apparition lessons, waited at the front door of the school for the would-be tutor.

At precisely eight pm, a woman walked up the path from the gates to the front door of the castle where Harry was waiting. The woman carried with her a precariously stacked mountain of books.

"Good evening, Mr. Potter," she said, peering around the books to see Harry. "I'm Madam Legrange."

"Hello, Madam. Can I ask what all those books are for?" Harry said, looking at the intimidating stack.

"Homework," Legrange replied. "My standard lesson plan involves three weeks of theory and one of practical for each lesson. I happen to believe that the best way to learn is often from books."

"The Umbridge method," Harry muttered. Out loud, he said, "Thanks for your interest but I don't think you're teaching style is for me."

Harry opened the door and held it for the woman. She scowled but could see from Harry's face that he was serious. Not one to waste time on students that were not interested, Madam Legrange turned around and headed back the way she had come. As she left, Harry heard her mutter, "I knew I should have stuck to Ravenclaws."

Harry closed the door and returned to his dorm room wondering if this was how Professor Dumbledore felt every year when there was a new defense professor to hire. Harry sighed and decided it didn't truly bother him all that much that he had cause to dismiss each of the applicants. He wasn't interested in learning to fight for Dumbledore anyways.


	19. A Relative Calm

As January gave way to February, Ron had yet to resolve his concerns over what he had learned from Harry and Hermione. He spent all his spare time thinking and exchanging letters. Concerned with what Ron was writing and to whom, Harry got his friend alone in their dorm room and asked about the letters.

"Er, Ron, who have you been writing all these letters to?" Harry asked carefully.

"I'm writing to my family," Ron replied. "There are some things I need to straighten out."

"What? You said you wouldn't tell anyone but Hermione."

"I'm leaving your name out of this entirely, Harry. I know my family and I know what's safe to write to each person. I don't plan on being interrogated but I do need answers."

"But what if they share letters?" Harry asked worriedly.

"I know my family pretty well. I know who I can trust to keep this sort of thing secret."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Harry looked clearly like he didn't want to take Ron's word on this.

Ron sighed. "Look," he said showing Harry a list with Weasley family members listed and notes in the opposite column showing what Ron wanted to ask each person.

"Oh, by the way, Percy says he owes you an apology for his 'lack of decorum' from last year. I told him he's a prat and he shouldn't expect you to forgive him but I'd pass the message along anyway."

"Percy? I thought you said you were leaving me out of this." Harry said.

"Hey, he brought you up. And yeah I'm writing Percy. He's the only one who hasn't joined the Order. I know I can't necessarily take what Percy says at face value but it's something."

"Is he a Death Eater?"

"Well, he's never actually told me but that's the impression I got from the letters he's sent. The first one I wrote him, I just wanted to ask about a few Ministry records."

"And you're ok with that?"

"I don't know," Ron said noncommittally. "Are you?"

"It's your choice, Ron. He's your family," Harry said.

"Listen," Ron said quietly. "I've learned a lot of things about the war since you convinced me to start thinking about it. I know we've always fought together and the Department of Mysteries was one hell of a bonding experience but there's a whole lot I didn't know. What if I don't want to join the Order?"

"That's your choice, too," Harry said.

Ron frowned and fell silent. After a moment, he said, "This is just hypothetical, you know, but what if I were, sometime in the future, to help the Death Eaters?"

Harry scowled, mostly to keep any other expression, such as confusion or disappointment or relief, off his face. He might have pushed Ron a bit too far.

"Don't you remember what they do? What about Neville's parents? What about muggle-torturing?" Harry said, trying to remind Ron why not to join the Death Eaters.

"And what about the Shadow Massacre?" Ron challenged.

Harry inhaled sharply. That would always be a sore spot with him because of his mother's involvement.

"I just meant that the Order has done some pretty bad things too," Ron explained. "But let me tell you something about the Longbottoms. Yeah, Mr. Longbottom was tortured with the Cruciatus but Mrs. Longbottom wasn't. When the aurors arrived, she had been hit with a fire curse and she was rambling and in shock but she was completely sane. Do you know what she did, Harry!?" Ron said, getting agitated.

"Apparently something you don't approve of," Harry muttered as Ron stood and started pacing angrily.

"She handed her baby to a healer and then blasted herself Lockhart-style! She would have been fine! The healers fixed up her burns in a few days time and she only has a few scars now but she did such a good job with the memory charm that she left her baby son orphaned!"

"Who told you that? Percy?" Harry said, his distrust of this new story evident.

"No, actually Dad told me about them," Ron said. His expression turned from disgusted to distant before he continued. "He said I'm old enough to know as long as I don't talk to Neville about it. They cover her scars whenever he visits his mother. He knows but he doesn't want to be reminded. He wants to pretend she was perfect."

"She wasn't, Ron. No one is. But, I can't say I wouldn't feel the same way in Neville's place," Harry pointed out.

"Why do they lie? Shouldn't we know what really happened? My dad knows and so does Bill. I got the Ministry records of their attackers' trials this morning too. This is what really happened. Why didn't they tell us the truth?"

"I mean, who could do that. She abandoned her family," Ron said, getting a Mrs. Weasley-style rant started. "Well, Percy could leave us but it's not the same. She left a defenseless baby on his own. I can at least write to Percy whenever I want and he'll write back. If Neville goes to talk to her, all he gets are rubbish candy wrappers!"

"Calm down, Ron," Harry said.

"I can't, Harry. I can't believe her; I can't believe this; I can't believe I didn't know so much. I'm not like you and Hermione. I grew up with this history. It shouldn't have been a surprise. I should have known better."

Ron suddenly stopped pacing and turned to Harry.

"Dad told me not to tell you," he said. "Mum told me not even to let you guess I was thinking about these things."

Harry scowled. He expected that sort of deception from Dumbledore but it hurt when it came from the Weasleys.

"Look, I'm obviously not doing what they said. You have a right to know that I'm reconsidering my loyalties."

"You sound like Malfoy," Harry said jokingly, wrinkling his nose.

Ron took it the wrong way and snapped, "What!? So you think because of this, next thing you know, I'll be calling Hermione a mudblood and going muggle hunting in my spare time!

"I sound like Charlie! And for your information, I happen to support what Dad does – the Muggle Protection Act and all that..."

"Ron. Ron. Ron!" Harry kept saying, trying to get his friends attention.

"– but Charlie had a good point. He said that if Dumbledore manages to chuck the Statute of Secrecy then muggles won't have as much protection."

"That can't be true, Ron," Harry said gently, though Ron clearly wasn't listening.

"I know you probably think that isn't true but it is, Harry..." Ron said, not even looking at his friend. The redhead was talking to himself more than to his friend.

Harry sighed and let Ron keep ranting. As long as the anger wasn't directed at him, Harry wouldn't interrupt while Ron got some things off his chest.

"...Right now, the Ministry gives muggles Sheltered status, meaning magical crimes against muggles have higher penalties because a muggle can't defend themselves. There's a whole system for figuring how much worse each crime is against different kinds of muggles. Squibs are most protected because they live with us and because blood-purist parents might harm them but besides them, muggles that don't know a thing about magic are more protected than muggles that do.

"Like, say an adult wizard used a Blasting Curse on Professor Figg but didn't do any serious damage; under Ministry law, it's a moderate fine for doing that unprovoked to another wizard but since Professor Figg's a squib, the penalty would be a huge fine and a week in Azkaban's open ward. Now if someone did the same thing to Hermione's dad, they could get a large fine but no time in Azkaban because he's a muggle but he knows about magic. If it was a muggle that didn't know about magic at all, the wizard could get a big fine and a few days in the open ward.

"Yeah, that's pretty shocking. If muggles knew about magic, they wouldn't be considered Sheltered anymore. It's pretty likely that most muggle protection laws would be revoked.

"I didn't understand how that could be if Dad still supports Dumbledore but I asked and he said it's because he thinks if muggles can figure out so many ways to live without magic and come up with all sorts of things, phellytones and the like, they could probably come up with ways to protect themselves against magic if they knew about it.

"And maybe they could, but Percy said that doing it would mean having to do a lot of tests on magic and maybe on wizards and witches and they still might not be able to. Percy's descriptions of what that would mean were, er, a bit brutal. He was the same way when he talked about muggles wanting compensation, of even retaliation, for what wizards have done to them recently - things like Grindelwald's war and all the Obliviations."

"That's just Percy's imagination. We don't know what muggles would do," Harry pointed out gently.

"I don't know that I believe Percy but I'm thinking I'd rather not take the chance. I mean, Charlie and Bill said the same things just less gory."

Ron seemed to slowly relax once he'd gotten everything out. Once he was silent, Harry spoke again.

"Ron, a lot of muggles are really nice people. You said so yourself."

"Yeah, and some aren't: like you're relatives, for instance," Ron said without looking at Harry.

"But..." Harry began but then he saw how upset Ron was at having his support for the Order and his family shaken. Maybe Hermione would be able to talk him back around.

//-//-//-//-

Hermione more than surprised Harry. Rather than coming up with a very logical argument to convince Ron that the Order was right, Hermione took Ron's newfound side. She was pleased with muggles' Sheltered status under the law and her argument, that it should be more serious a crime to attack a muggle than a wizard, made a lot of sense to Harry. Her ideas had none of the Weasleys' speculations and impulsive, emotional decisions. Harry found himself almost convinced.

//-//-//-//-//-

At the end of the first week of the month, the advanced apparition class ended with a small test of the skills they had covered. The beginner and intermediate classes were still in session, however, so for just over an hour each day, Harry was the only sixth-year in Gryffindor Tower.

A few days later, Dumbledore found another prospective tutor for Harry and arranged a first lesson. Professor Kerr arrived late to find Harry fidgeting impatiently in the Entrance Hall. Harry led her to the Room of Requirement and procured a classroom for them. Immediately, Kerr put Harry through his paces, testing his defenses and offenses and physical fitness. Harry had to admit that this tutor seemed to know what she was doing and Harry almost accepted her but that would have meant lessons in how to fight Death Eaters and Harry was not comfortable with that anymore. At the end of the session, he thanked Professor Kerr and blamed her dismissal on her tardiness.

The next day, Dumbledore stopped Harry in the corridor.

"Harry, my boy, still having trouble finding a tutor, are you?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said.

"You've rejected five now, you know."

"It's my choice," Harry reminded the Headmaster.

"Yes, it is," Dumbledore said with a benevolent smile, "and I'm glad that you're making it. I'm also pleased that you seem to have recovered from the events of last year."

Harry scowled at the old man. He wasn't sure what Dumbledore meant by that.

"You seem to be sticking up for yourself and taking charge again."

'You have no idea,' Harry thought to himself.

"I expect you are missing the elder Weasleys. I hope to find some time for you to visit them soon but in the meantime, you may consider writing them letters," Dumbledore suggested.

Harry gulped. Did Dumbledore know about Ron's frantic correspondence? Did he think Harry felt the same way as Ron?

"I'll think about it, Professor," Harry said before excusing himself to continue on his way to the library.

Harry told himself he wasn't a betrayer. He still cared about the Weasleys and Remus and Tonks and the other Order members. He feared their rejection, the expressions of loathing they would show him if they knew he didn't want to win the war for them. It wouldn't matter that he also didn't want to win the war for Voldemort; there just wasn't enough middle ground. Forsaking the Order was close enough to joining Voldemort that Harry had to keep them from finding out but at the same time, he also knew he couldn't pretend to fight for them. He didn't know what to do. There was so little middle ground to stand on it was like walking a tight rope. At times like this, when the Order came and tried to pull him off to their side, he lost his inner balance and found himself wobbling from side to side, unsure if he should stay on the rope or jump off to one side or the other. Eventually, push would come to shove and Harry would have to move decisively or fall on his arse.

//-//-//-//-//-//-

As February 14th approached, Ginny attempted to reconcile with Harry. At first, she told him that she understood and forgave him and wanted to be friends but before long, it was clear that this sort of friendship was her idea of a stepping-stone to dating again. When Harry failed to ask her out for the Hogsmeade visit on the 15th, she became royally angry. Harry tried to remind her that their relationship was over but Ginny only shouted more loudly at him and even tried to hex him twice. Harry managed to erect shield spells in time but when he thought Ginny had calmed down, he turned his back to her and was immediately hit with an extremely strong Bat Bogey Hex. Ginny was hauled off to Professor McGonagall by one of the seventh year prefects while a sympathetic Ron reversed the hex. Harry was sore for the rest of the night and Ginny had two months of nightly detention for hexing another student while his back was turned.

//-//-//-//-//-//-

As usual, when it rained, it poured. The sky outside showed that spring was coming and turning what had been a snowy winter into the beginnings of a very wet spring. Meanwhile, inside, Harry's drizzle of bad luck with the hexing incident seemed to have turned into a downpour. Hermione had decided it was past time for Harry and Ron to begin studying for exams. Adhering to her study schedules, arguing with her over them, or avoiding her while he was supposed to be studying were taking up most of his spare time. To make matters worse, Snape had decided to give Harry that unearned detention he had asked for quite a while ago.

Harry reported to Snape's office promptly at 9 for the detention. He was extremely surprised when Snape invited him to sit in the chair in front of the desk rather than ordering him off to the storeroom or classroom to perform the usual manual labor.

"Harry," Professor Snape said, handing over a sealed letter, "I have a letter to forward to you since it would not have been prudent to allow Aly to visit you."

Harry took the letter, a bit surprised to hear the serious professor address him like that for the first time since Christmas Eve.

"Read that here and then I will burn it," Snape demanded.

Harry scowled but did as he was asked. Snape was not one to cross.

_Mr. Potter_

_I hope your term is going well. I hear that you now know at least my surname. I would, however, prefer that you not address me as such outside our towns. You may call me by my first name, Aurelia, if you wish to write to me. _

_I vaguely recall mentioning that I would not write letters during term but I shall have to make an exception this once as I wish to update you on our progress. My Lord has asked that I inform you of a potential plan. You likely do not understand his wish now but I will explain from the beginning._

_You see, my Lord has achieved an important victory. Just this morning, our amendment to the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery was approved by the Minister of Magic. The announcement is to be made this afternoon and I expect Dumbledore will announce it to students this evening or tomorrow morning. Even if he does not, it will likely be front page in the Daily Prophet tomorrow. As our efforts with the Governors of Hogwarts to exercise our influence are also going well, several ideas for hiding our success are being discussed. _

_If we are successful on that front, there will likely be a third plan implemented: a staged military failure. It is not often that my Lord risks such an endeavor but we have all learned that moving too quickly can do more harm than good in the long run. I must ask that, should this come to pass, you and your friends remain on the sidelines. To fake a battle without the assistance of one's opponents is a dangerous thing. Our choreography will have to be exact to prevent losses while providing for a convincing performance._

When Harry finished reading, he looked up back at the professor watching him.

"When is the battle?" Harry asked Snape.

"You will not know in advance," Professor Snape replied with finality.

"Why not? I need to know," Harry said.

Snape glared at him and Harry was inclined to accept his decision. Crossing Snape was not something undertaken without prior planning.

He passed the letter to Snape who burned it to ashes with a flame from the tip of his wand. Snape's wife clearly thought that Harry should know about the battle in advance so he would just have to find out more on his own. He had experience in that field, after all. He already noted that Aurelia's letter suggested the attack would involve himself in some way. He certainly had no intention of standing idly by while Death Eaters attacked him, his friends, or his school.

"That will be all," Snape said. "Make yourself scarce for the remaining 45 minutes of your scheduled detention."

It took Harry a moment to recognize the unexpected dismissal but when he did, he thanked the professor and let himself out of the office. He then used back routes to ascend to the ground level and slip outside through a side door. Once outside, he changed into bird form and took his usual nighttime flight. It was as relaxing as usual and he realized his luck wasn't nearly as bad as he had thought before meeting with Professor Snape.

//-//-//-//-//-

It surprised Harry that no announcement was made at supper. The following morning at breakfast, Harry kept glancing towards the Head Table, wondering when Dumbledore was going to inform everyone of the amendment. When mail arrived and the Headmaster was still stubbornly seated, Harry glanced around as students first noticed the headline of the _Prophet_. Slowly, the noise level crept up and people began crossing the hall excitedly, waving copies of the wizarding paper. When the staff finally tired of the commotion, the Headmaster stood in place at the Head Table and raised his wand, shooting red sparks from the tip and shouting, "May I have everyone's attention please?"

As soon as everyone was quiet, Dumbledore continued.

"The Minister of Magic approved a change to the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery yesterday."

Excited chatter broke out as students talked about the change that would certainly prove to be positive and fun for them.

"Quiet, please," Dumbledore said again.

"Now then, the new law states that you all may practice magic during vacations and holidays so long as those of you who are not yet 17 have a fully-trained adult witch or wizard supervising."

Many students, including Ron, cheered the news. Some, like Hermione, frowned.

"Everyone," Dumbledore warned, "quiet down. This means that those of you who do not already have plans to holiday with an adult witch or wizard should consider doing so. Otherwise, I will be happy to assist any interested muggleborn student in finding a tutor to serve as supervisor over the summer; simply notify your Head of House that you are interested and they will let me know."

As Dumbledore sat back down, the cheery smile faded but few students noticed as they had all turned away to talk amongst themselves again.

"I don't like this," Hermione was saying.

"What do you care, Hermione?" Ron asked. "You're already 17 so nothing has changed for you. You're even sitting the apparition exam on your first day back."

Hermione glared at him. "I care because it isn't fair to muggleborns."

"Sure it is," Ron said. "You heard Dumbledore. He's going to help find tutors for them...er, you all, er..." he said, drifting off as her glare intensified.

"Ronald, you are missing the point entirely. I don't know why I bother," she said, standing and stalking out of the hall in a huff.

Harry and Ron weren't far behind her. In fact, about a third of the students had had enough commotion for so early in the morning and were leaving breakfast for the quiet of their mostly-empty house Common Rooms. Harry listened as Ron tried to apologize to Hermione but his mind was elsewhere. As was not uncommon lately, he had a lot of thinking to do.

//-//-//-//-//-//-

When Harry happened across Hannah in the corridor the next day and the last day of February, he decided he needed to speak with her. They choose a secluded, portrait-free corner and talked quietly.

"What do you think about the new law," Hannah asked him.

"I don't know," Harry said. "What do you think?"

"It doesn't really affect me," She pointed out. "I've been able to use magic whenever I want since the summer after my first year in school."

"Oh," Harry said. She hadn't really answered his question.

"You really want to know? I think it makes things more difficult for muggleborns but the more contact they have with adult witches and wizards, the better. I wish there was some fair way to give everyone an equal chance to practice magic at home safely but I can't think of anything better than this."

"Oh," Harry said again.

Hannah laughed amicably at his lack of words.

"I don't know how you do it," he said finally. "How can you be a Hufflepuff and an old DA member and still live, well, _there_."

Hannah nodded. "You know, you never asked our politics when you formed the DA, but you are right. It is hard. I wish the Death Eaters wouldn't attack muggles and muggleborns. It isn't right to punish people for something they have no control over."

"Then you don't support them?" Harry asked.

"Well, I don't know that I would say that. I don't want to fight my family and the people I grew up with but my conscience won't allow me to aide them either."

"Do you support their principles?" Harry asked, hoping she might have a way that would help him to reconcile his own beliefs with the realities of the war.

"Harry," she began tentatively, "I just don't know. I'm certainly not a blood-purist but I do love our way of life and I wish more people would practice our religion. I just think that we're in a better position to be ourselves with the International Statute of Secrecy in place."

Harry nodded absently. He found himself agreeing with Hannah. If only his situation were as simple as choosing his own beliefs. The Boy Who Lived could not just think; he would have to act.


	20. Development

Another tutor arrived for Harry early in the month of March. The man who obviously idolized the Headmaster had a long silvery beard and tried to tell Harry that the secret to Dumbledore's success was his mass consumption of muggle candy. The lesson plan therefore included eating a lot of lemon drops and occasionally practicing with muggle weapons like firelegs and sworns. Harry sent him away as quickly as he could and, when a different tutor arrived the following evening, Harry didn't have the patience to hear the lesson plan. He merely thanked her for coming and sent her home.

The next evening at supper, Dumbledore stood and made a short announcement.

"The governors have ruled that, in this time of uncertainty and war, all students should spend time with their families this spring. They have left it up to me to choose the dates. I am pleased to announce that you will all be going home on the 29th of March. The Hogwarts Express will take you to London and pick you up again there on the 6th of April. Make sure you all owl your families and arrange to get from the station to your homes."

The news was greeted with much cheering from everyone including Harry. Dumbledore had said he would try to arrange for Harry to visit the Weasleys and surely this was that chance.

Dumbledore called Harry to his office that evening. The old man was looking unusually purposeful and determined.

"My boy, not all war is battles. It is past time you learned how to manage that. I have found two tutors for you. The first will visit tomorrow evening and the second on Friday evening. Please give them a chance. Their teachings may prove invaluable in the future."

"Sir, will I be going to the Burrow over holiday?" Harry asked, already sure of the answer.

"No, Harry," Dumbledore said. "Molly and Arthur have a lot of work to do. Ronald and Ginevra won't be going home either. Mr. and Mrs. Granger have graciously extended invitations to them. I do hope you will understand that I declined the same offer for you as there would be no adult wizards to protect you. You will have to return to your Aunt and Uncle's home. I have already informed them that they will need to pick you up at King's Cross."

Harry became very angry but Dumbledore did not have the patience he had had before. He apologized to the ranting Harry and walked the boy back to Gryffindor. The whole argument was rather unsatisfying to Harry; Dumbledore had not fought back at all.

//-//-/-//-//-//-

The first Politics tutor arrived as scheduled to find Harry pacing angrily in the Entrance Hall. The man, a muggleborn wizard who worked for several members of the muggle Parliament, was sent away immediately.

"Just one more," Harry told himself as he walked back to Gryffindor. "I'll make it look like I gave it a shot and then I'll tell Dumbledore I don't want anymore tutors."

As usual, Hermione was waiting for him when he got back but this time, Ron was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Ron?" Harry asked.

"Kitchens. He borrowed your cloak," she replied. "Can I talk to you, Harry?"

"Of course," Harry said.

"Let's go somewhere quiet."

Harry looked around the Common Room and saw Neville, Seamus, and Dean there so he and Hermione went up to his dorm room.

As soon as they were alone, Hermione cast a silencing charm on the open doorway and Harry wondered what she wanted to say.

She turned to him and asked, "You don't support Dumbledore anymore, do you?"

Harry looked at her, surprised, for a long moment before he said, "No, I don't." His mind was racing. There was no way Hermione, a muggleborn, would ever go against Dumbledore. Would have he have to obliviate her?

"Will you join the Order?"

Harry hesitated for a moment, unsure why Hermione was asking.

"No."

"Are you going to join Voldemort?" she asked.

"No, of course not," Harry said.

Hermione relaxed and smiled a bit. "Good. I feel the same way."

"I thought you wanted to be able to tell your family about Hogwarts," Harry said.

Hermione frowned. "I've thought about it and that isn't worth repealing the Statue of Secrecy. I want to be neutral. I can't support muggle killings nor will I fight against Ron's family and I wouldn't want to face professors or aurors in battle. I want to work for a peaceful resolution like someone should have a long time ago."

Harry nodded. He wasn't the only one in the middle anymore; his friends were with him. Though surprising, that Hermione could forsake the Order also helped Harry. He realized that it wasn't so hard. Hermione was muggleborn and just the sort of person Dumbledore was fighting for but she wasn't going to follow him. Harry's mind was made up; he would not help the Order and he would tell Dumbledore that... just as soon as he was reasonably sure of the safety of doing so.

Hermione took the silencing charm down and returned to her homework in the Common Room. Soon Harry was joined by Ron and a plate full of ginger biscuits. Things were defiantly looking up for Harry.

Thus, after rejecting the second Politics tutor, Harry wrapped his invisibility cloak around himself to go walking through the corridors since it was after curfew and he really needed to speak with Professor Dumbledore. He walked quietly through the school, passing Filch and Professor Vector on the way to the Headmaster's Office. When he arrived, he was about to say the password when the gargoyle jumped aside on its own as if Dumbledore was expecting him.

However, when Harry stepped inside and found that the staircase did not move to carry him up, he wondered what was going on. Climbing to the top, he saw that the office door was open slightly. He peeked in and saw Dumbledore busy at work unlocking a cabinet hidden in the back of a bookcase. As Harry watched covertly, Dumbledore opened the safe-like cabinet and removed a wooden box which he set on the edge of the table at the back of his office. Harry could only just see what Dumbledore had. The old man's back was to the door.

Dumbledore's box had a flask of black potion which he sipped from once before returning it to the box. The other item in the box was familiar to Harry: the Philosopher's Stone. Harry squinted at it, sure that his eyes were betraying him. Dumbledore had told him that the last Stone had been destroyed to keep Voldemort from getting it. But Harry's eyes weren't deceiving him. Harry suddenly realized that he was eavesdropping on the most powerful wizard in the world doing something he probably wanted kept a secret. Harry carefully and quietly descended the stairs and left. The gargoyle slid quietly back in place behind him as he headed for the library. Harry needed to know if the potion he had seen Dumbledore drink was the Elixir of Life. If it was, Harry would be even more upset than he already was that Dumbledore had the Stone.

Harry went immediately to the Alchemy section of the empty and shadowy library. Luckily, the books he wanted were shelved by a window so he would have enough light to read by without using his magic. The respect he had felt for Dumbledore's power and reputation in the past had turned to fear of being on the business end of Dumbledore's wand.

Harry flipped through Alchemy books looking for the Elixir of Life. Finally, he found one that's Table of Contents listed a section on the Philosopher's Stone and the Elixir of Life. Harry noted that there was an owner's mark on the facing page: "Property of Albus Dumbledore, A Gift from your Friend and Mentor, Nicholas Flamel." That was crossed out and "Hogwarts Library" was written in below it. With a barely audible sigh, Harry flipped to the chapter he needed and began to read. Partway through the second page he found the answer he was seeking:

_The Elixir of Life, which looks notably like various Aging Potions in consistency and not unlike several of the most dangerous poisons in color, is secreted by the Philosopher's Stone as a by-product of the process of turning lead into gold._

Harry scowled at the result. Since he doubted Dumbledore would have cause to drink an aging potion or a poison, it seemed likely that he had drunk Elixir of Life. Harry read on until he came to a paragraph that was underlined lightly. It discussed the use of the potion, claiming that the Elixir worked by stopping the aging process. It also stated that those who were not physically old already could take the potion and stop using it safely, in effect halting the aging process and then allowing it to start again. Following that, there were four pages that detailed the effectiveness of the Elixir, including calculations for the potency of each dose in terms of time a person stopped aging. The math was beyond Harry's comprehension and he was about to close the book when he found a folded sheet of muggle notepaper stuck firmly between the next two pages. Harry removed it and immediately recognized the flowing quill-marks as Dumbledore's handwriting. The page contained detailed calculations with every number and variable neatly labeled, not unlike Hermione's Arithmancy homework. Dumbledore had been calculating something. Harry tried to make sense of it but eventually had to give up. He returned the book to the shelf but kept the paper. Hermione would probably understand it.

Hermione made quick work of the document, thanks to all of the clear labels, Harry's description from the book, and the research she had done on the Philosopher's Stone in their First Year. She explained to Harry that the page was a calculation of how often a person should take the Elixir to age only slightly less than normal. She then pointed to an entry halfway down the page.

"This section here is a recalculation to find out how much the person had aged by taking 15 quarterly doses beginning at age 37. Oh, and this is fascinating," she said. "Then that number is added to elapsed time and the answer is labeled as 'Physical age: 1992.'

She pointed to the third section of the calculations next and said, "That lists the starting body age as 95 and calculates how long a given amount of potion will keep the subject alive."

They could both see from the angry crossing outs over the answer that it wasn't acceptable to the mathematician. Harry interpreted this news as Dumbledore having apparently considered destroying the Stone and finding that he did not have enough time left without the Elixir. It was then that Harry told Hermione that this was Dumbledore's work. At first she didn't believe it but when Harry showed her a letter from Dumbledore to compare it with and she cast a serious of charms over them both, she agreed that the handwriting was identical. She then insisted on showing them to Ron. They all agreed that, as Hermione said, this was "the straw that broke the camel's back"

Though Hermione was clearly torn between glee at having such intriguing and informative research in front of her and disgust at Dumbledore's betrayal, Ron confessed that he felt rather ill at the thought. Though Hermione would have preferred to keep the document for study, Ron and Harry, thinking more about what Dumbledore might do to keep that secret, gave her the choice of hiding it or destroying it. She made the valid point that it was evidence against Dumbledore that they might need later and they should keep it. In the end, they decided to send it with Hedwig to Hermione's parents with a letter asking them to keep it for her until she came home.

//-//-//-//-//-

Very soon, Hermione decided she would have to learn to protect her mind as Ron and Harry had. She went first to the library and read every book they had on Occlumency and then went to Professor Snape. She did not know of Snape's true loyalties but she could hardly ask Professor Dumbledore to teach her and they were the only two Legilimens in the castle. In her mind, the risky endeavor was probably a moot point anyway since Snape would hardly volunteer to teach her.

Much to her surprise, after a week of repeatedly requesting lessons, Snape agreed to teach her. Perhaps he was irritated with her persistence or maybe he simply recognized that she was serious about learning. Either way, she spent nearly as much time practicing her Occlumency outside of her twice-weekly lessons as Ron spent practicing and exercising for his dueling lessons. Harry slowly noticed a difference in the way Snape treated Hermione in class. He was still stern and had no patience for mistakes but he no longer went out of his way to intimidate her. She may be an insufferable know-it-all but she was thinking for herself rather than running blindly into battle.

As the spring holiday approached, Ginny and Ron got letters from their parents about staying at Hermione's house. Of course, Harry had told them about Dumbledore's plan already but this was confirmation. Ron didn't mind, having spent part of Christmas vacation at Hermione's, and Ginny thought it would be fun. There was another piece of information in those letters though that interested Harry, Ron, and Hermione: the Order had chosen a new Headquarters and only those who absolutely had to go there were to know where it was. Evidently, The Boy Who Lived and his sidekicks were not in the need-to-know category... not that they minded all that much anymore.

//-//-//-//-//-//-

On March 28th, all of the students and several professors spent the evening packing their trunks. The following morning, rowdy, noisy students ate a rushed breakfast. They were too excited about the time off school to care that there was a thunderstorm raging outside. Even as they hurriedly piled into thestral-drawn carriages for the trip to the Hogsmeade's train station, the wet did not quell the excitement. At the station, they all hurried to find compartments with their friends. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny found a compartment with two third-year Ravenclaws and the six of them spent much of the ride playing a giant game of Exploding Snap involving three decks of cards and complicated rules that led to a lot of humorous debate because no one could keep them straight.

As the train neared King's Cross, Harry put his robe in his bottomless bag with his trunk and pulled on a jacket instead. All along the train, other students were doing the same. When they had come to a stop in the station, Harry and his friends were some of the first off the train. They were met by Fleur Delacour and Bill Weasley who greeted them cheerfully and walked them to the muggle platform where they found the Grangers. After a few minutes of Weasley family chatter, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were on their way to Hermione's house and Bill and Fleur led Harry around the station in search of the elusive Dursleys.

After nearly twenty minutes, they found Vernon and Petunia sheltering under an awning beside the parking lot. They were wet, red-faced, and in a foul mood.

"Blasted boy," Petunia said when she spotted him. "Keeping us waiting like this, it's entirely unacceptable."

"Shouldn't even have come," Vernon said. "It's not part of the deal that we have to keep picking him up and dropping him off. Holidays – Rubbish, I say!"

Petunia pinched Harry's arm through his jacket sleeve and led him away roughly, not allowing him to walk under that umbrella that she and Vernon were using.

As Harry was dragged out into the rain, he thought he heard a cat hiss angrily and caught a glimpse of glinting feline eyes from under a bush nearby. A moment later, the bush shook and the eyes disappeared only to be replaced by the toes of black boots as Professor McGonagall appeared between the two trees behind it. The Dursleys were steadily pulling him away from the sympathetic professor or he might have acknowledged her. Instead, Harry shouted goodbye to Bill and Fleur over his shoulder and received a sharp jerk from Petunia in response.

"Freaks!" Vernon growled.

"Get in the car," Petunia hissed at Harry as soon as they neared the Dursley family car.

Harry obeyed quickly, eager to get out of the pouring rain. Once inside, he buckled his seat belt and waited as his relatives got in.

Vernon started the car and pulled out of the space.

Meanwhile, Petunia was addressing Harry. "You owe us for the trouble we go through to pick you up on these holidays, for our continued silence about your disappearances, and for cutting off the money from those freaks that used to pay us. You're going to Charing Cross again and getting us eight thousand pounds."

Harry scoffed. No way was he going to do that but he knew what he was going to do. He waited until they reached Charing Cross Road and stopped the car. Petunia sent him back out into the rain. Pulling his jacket tightly around him and hugging his bag to his chest, he walked to the nearest alley. From the shadows, he activated his portkey and went home.


	21. Not Politics

For four days, the heavy rain convinced Harry to stay inside. Electra and Regulus visited once briefly, but mostly Harry was left to his own devices. He browsed the library he had inherited and enjoyed Cedar's cooking. He would be the first to admit that he was hungry far more often lately than he could ever remember being while away from the Dursleys.

On Thursday, late at night, the rain finally stopped. The very next day, Harry put on Quidditch gear and shouldered his broom. He took the crate with the Snitch and Quaffle he had been given for Christmas and left his house for the Quidditch pitch in Brocksett. He was eager to do something besides sit around the house.

As Harry crossed his front lawn and began walking down his street, he generally forgot to feel out of place or ill at ease. He forgot, that is, until he saw familiar red hair on the head of the man walking up the lane towards him. For a moment, Harry debated going back to his house and avoiding whichever Weasley this was but he stopped himself. That he was here suggested that this Weasley could be trusted with Harry's position.

Harry continued along the lane until he stopped in front of the gate to his neighbor's house. The Weasley had recognized him. The redhead neared and Harry was astonished to see not Percy, but Charlie. Harry could see the same indecision he had felt a moment ago. Just as Harry had, Charlie chose to stay. He tentatively approached Harry, obviously confused by the Boy Who Lived's presence in that town.

"Harry? What are you doing here?" Charlie asked.

"Hogwarts has a spring vacation this year. Everyone was sent home" Harry said, knowing that didn't answer Charlie's real question but hoping if he sounded casual about it, Charlie would see that he was alright.

Charlie looked at Harry confusedly and said nothing.

"I live here under a Fidelia," Harry said, gesturing towards the end of the lane where his house stood invisible to Charlie.

"Here? Why? How?" Charlie asked.

"Because I like it here. I inherited that house over the summer and I've lived here since."

"But, you haven't met your neighbors, have you?" Charlie asked, still trying to understand how the Boy Who Lived could be so comfortable in this town, of all places.

"No. I've met a lot of people. I've played Quidditch with the Eyrie's Edge team. Rudella Moore, she lives there," he said pointing to the house across the street, "she's their team captain. I've also had Midwinter supper at the Black house and been to the Midwinter Festival where I met Ayr Greengrass and a lot of other people... even Narcissa Malfoy," Harry said, hoping to convince Charlie that he did actually know what he was doing.

"Oh," Charlie said. "Are you really Harry Potter or is this some sort of test?"

"It's really me Charlie."

"You're not with the Order anymore?"

"I've decided not to take sides," Harry said.

"But you're here..."

"I know, Charlie," Harry said and left it at that. "So what brings you here?" Harry asked pleasantly.

"Err, I'm just visiting someone," Charlie replied.

"Ahh. Well, do you live here?" Harry asked, pointing to the Prewett house.

"No," Charlie said without elaboration.

The identity of the unnamed mystery person Charlie was visiting was clear a moment later when the door of that house opened and Percy Weasley emerged.

"There you are, Charlie. I thought you'd gotten lost again," he called.

When Percy neared his brother and Harry, he looked Harry over critically before saying, "Good morning, neighbor."

"Morning, Percy," Harry said not very cheerfully.

"I do hope that Ron passed along my apologies," Percy said.

"Yeah," Harry said.

"I did mean them," Percy told Harry. "It is obvious now that I misjudged you and for that I am deeply and humbly sorry."

"Fine," Harry said. He wasn't pleased with Percy but the most pompous of the Weasleys did seem sincere. He supposed Percy deserved another chance.

"Thank you," Percy said. "Would you care to join us inside?"

"Sure," Harry said.

The three of them walked towards Percy's home and waited while Percy let them in. Harry left his Quidditch things just inside the door and followed the Weasley brothers into a painfully tidy sitting room.

"Come in, Harry, and have a seat," Percy said, gesturing towards his sitting room.

As Harry sat on the somewhat shabby sofa, Charlie and Percy excused themselves to get a tea service from the next room. Though they tried to keep their voices down, Harry could hear what they were saying and could mostly see them as well.

"Perce," Charlie said. "You got one of these, right?"

Percy took the letter Charlie handed him and glanced briefly at its contents. "Yes, several. Why do you ask?"

Charlie glanced at Harry before looking back at his brother and saying. "Does he know?"

"About me or about you?" Percy asked.

"Well, both?" Charlie said.

"I supplied enough hints about my own politics for the average person to read between the lines, but you know Ron's always been a bit thick. Did you tell him about yourself?"

"No. I'm thinking maybe I should though."

Percy picked up the tea service and led his brother back into the sitting room. They took seats and Percy served the tea.

"Ron doesn't trust Dumbledore anymore. He really listened to what the both of you said," Harry interrupted.

"Harry, I'm not a Death Eater," Charlie said, still concerned with what Harry thought of him.

"But I am," Percy said firmly. In support, he unbuttoned his cuff and rolled up his sleeve to show his Dark Mark.

"Ok," Harry said to both of them.

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked.

"I guess it means that I'm trying to look beyond people's politics."

"Harry, I can understand if you're just sick of the war but it's serious business. There isn't that much besides politics these days. Everything is about where you stand and what you do about it," Charlie said.

Harry shook his head. "We don't have to talk about that though. There's a lot besides war: family, school, work, Quidditch... What about dragons?"

"There're why I'm here, on this side of things," Charlie said, deliberately emphasizing that even dragons had to do with war. "Muggles nearly hunted them to extinction and their only just recovering."

Harry shook his head again. "Not that. I'm sure its important to you but tell me about your research. Hermione said it was really interesting."

"Is Hermione still your friend? She wouldn't support this, you being here, you know," Percy said.

"She is and she does. Now, please, stop talking politics," Harry said, wondering why this conversation wasn't like any of the casual chats he'd had with Weasleys in the past when pranks and the Cannons were the most serious matters in consideration.

"Well, alright. I'm studying dragon bloodlines and breeding. With so many preserves, it's hard to have any natural variation because the populations are so contained. We keepers try to help by rotating the males among the different preserves but it hasn't worked like we hoped so a group of us are devoting ourselves to full-time study of the problem..."

For the rest of the morning, Harry, Percy, and Charlie managed to have a mostly non-politic discussion that was actually quite pleasant. Afterwards, Harry told the brothers the Secret of his house and then returned home to eat before going to play Quidditch. Though Harry didn't realize that it wasn't only he that ate better and slept better the rest of vacation, the pleasant conversation had gone a great way towards easing the tension of wartime life for all three of them. Still, it didn't escape Harry's notice that he felt better and he rightly attributed it to the friendly conversations and healthy exercise. It was a lesson he intended to remember and share with Ron and Hermione.

//-//-//-//-//-

When Electra apparated Harry back to Little Whinging early Sunday morning and Harry walked back to Number 4 Privet Drive alone, he was surprised to find the Dursleys home and mostly content. That there wasn't an Order member in sight, however, was not surprising. He had figured the Dursleys wouldn't actually tell Dumbledore anything because for all they knew, the Order wouldn't pay anymore if they knew Harry wasn't staying at Number 4 anymore.

Not expecting to have to wait more than an hour or so for the Order to come and pick him up, Harry sat in Petunia's garden and waited.

No sooner had the Dursleys seen him than Dudley stuck his big, stupid head out the window and taunted, "Ha, ha, those freaks aren't coming for you."

At that point, Petunia came to the door and stalked across the yard to drag Harry inside. "You thieving little sneak! How dare you leave us to wait in London! You'd best be thankful you're Headmaster is too stupid to check in on you! 5000 pounds; we asked for 8000 but the old coot wouldn't give us more!"

"You owe us, boy!" Vernon grunted from the sitting room. "Dudley..."

Vernon didn't have to finish his sentence before Dudley was waddling over to Harry. Petunia relinquished her nephew to her son's 'care' and joined her husband in the sitting room. Meanwhile, Dudley was laying ham-sized fists into Harry's body. Harry dodged and fought back fairly well, all things considered. He tried to get his wand from his bag without success. As Dudley dealt a painful blow to his wand arm that definitely cracked bone, Harry rolled and dodged for the door. It cost him four more painful blows to get the door open and then he was stumbling dizzily out into the yard. Where was the Order? Harry ran as fast as he could away from Dudley. The tub of lard could not keep up and soon turned and waddled back to his house. Harry made his way cautiously towards Mrs. Figg's house. Surely she would know where the Order was and could summon a healer for Harry.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Figg was not home. Her house stood empty even of her cats and Harry sighed and cradled his broken arm closer to his chest. He sat on her stoop and wondered where the Order was. Checking his wristwatch, Harry realized that he had already missed the Hogwarts Express. Where was the Order? With the ache in his arm throbbing and bruises forming all over his body, Harry stood and carefully opened his bag. He dug through the mess of his school things piled haphazardly in there on top of his nearly empty trunk and found his money pouch and his wand. Using his wand arm only as much as was absolutely necessary, he summoned the Knight Bus which appeared with a bang in all its purpleness directly in front of him.

The doors opened and a petite witch stuck her head out.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transit for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Elphrida Rees. Can I help you with your bags?" she said in a monotone, bored voice.

"You're not Ernie," Harry said, sounding dumb in his surprise.

"Right you are," Elphrida said, "Stan and Ernie work Fridays, Saturdays, and Sunday mornings. You just missed them."

"Oh," Harry said. "How much to Hogwarts?"

"11 sickles. If you want..."

"11 sickles it is," Harry said, not needing to hear his other options. He struggled with his money pouch for a moment before he managed to get it open and count out the coins without jarring his broken arm.

"It'll be thirty minutes to Hogwarts," Elphrida said once he had handed her the money, she stepped aside and sighed glumly, allowing Harry to climb up and past her. The first level had only three empty armchairs on it. Harry took one not far from the door and tried to relax as best he could given the pain in his arm and the jerking of the bus as it jumped all over Britain.

Forty-five minutes later, Harry started from a daze when he heard the same bored, monotone voice saying, "Hogwarts... Hogwarts... Hogwarts..."

The bus had dropped Harry off at the school's gates. Harry had to walk up the hill to the school. The front door stood open, waiting for the other students to arrive so Harry walked in and headed directly to the Hospital Wing. Though Madam Pomfrey wasn't there, only moments after Harry had crossed the threshold, the healer arrived looking confused.

"Mr. Potter!" she gasped when she saw him. "Sit on that bed."

Harry obeyed as she quickly moved to his side and began casting diagnostic spells.

"Take off your bag," she ordered.

Madam Pomfrey tutted and muttered to herself while she healed Harry's arm. When she finished, she ordered Harry to stay put and then left the Hospital Wing, walking quickly, still muttering to herself.

Harry heard her returning before he saw her.

"I can't understand how one boy can get into so much trouble. Here I was hoping he would stay mostly fit for just one year..."

"He's alright, isn't he?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes, of course. I mended his arm already. But my point was..." she trailed off as they entered the Ward.

"I'm sure he hasn't been in another fight," McGonagall whispered to Pomfrey as they approached Harry.

"What seems to be the problem, Mr. Potter," McGonagall asked Harry.

"I'm fine, Professor, except that no one came to the Dursleys to pick me up today," Harry replied.

"How did you get these injuries?" McGonagall asked gas gently as she could manage with her face set in a tense frown.

"My cousin, ma'am," Harry replied.

It was Madam Pomfrey's turn to frown.

"I will have a word with Professor Dumbledore about this, Harry," McGonagall said quietly. To Madam Pomfrey, she said, "Can't you give him some Bruise Balm and a Pepper-Up? The poor boy looks dreadful."

Madam Pomfrey nodded. As Professor McGonagall left to find the Headmaster, Madam Pomfrey healed Harry's bruises and then gave him a Pepper-Up potion followed shortly by a very light sleeping potion to improve the effectiveness of the healing.

Some time later, Harry woke up to see Dumbledore seated beside his bed reading a book. When Harry sat up, Dumbledore noticed and set his book aside.

"Harry, my boy, how are you feeling?" Dumbledore said.

"Fine," Harry said with a yawn.

"Wonderful. Now then, let's get right down to business. I am disappointed that you did not wait for Bill and Fleur to pick you up however, given that your arrival was much less spectacular than the last time you arranged your own transportation, I'm willing to call it youthful indiscretion. However, I must remind you that we are at war and my security precautions are important to your safety. You will have to follow them in the future.

"Enough of that. I received quite a peculiar letter from your aunt over vacation and that is what I truly wished to talk with you about."

Harry bit his lip to keep his face from betraying the worry that he felt. He also prepared to deny everything and/or portkey himself home.

"I don't know if you realize but they have been demanding money for your care for some time. I am aware of how highly muggles value money, rather like we value magical power... quite an ingenious system muggles have, as money can be earned whereas magical power is inherent and inalterable... but I digress. I have decided that we won't pay them anymore. I expect they won't be pleased and you will likely get far fewer gifts and pleasantries from them but I believe it is for the best."

"Professor, I don't think you understand. The Dursleys will try to get what they want from me. It won't be safe to go back..."

"Harry, my boy, you and I have paid them more than 7000 galleons over the years. It is enough. You are a talented, resourceful, lucky young man and I am sure you will be able to work something out with your relatives. Until Voldemort is gone, you will have to remain in their care."

Dumbledore stood to leave and Harry had to decide if he wanted to fight Dumbledore's ruling. If he did and Dumbledore gave in, it could mean a change of residence. Harry could end up at Order Headquarters where there would be no chance of getting away without being missed. Harry decided to let Dumbledore leave. He wanted to be able to go home to Eyrie's Edge and bribing the Dursleys himself was the price he had to pay for his disappearance to go unnoticed.

//-//-//-//-//-

Over the next couple of weeks, the students of Hogwarts were given so much homework that they had little time for anything else in an effort to make up for the missed days of school the Governors' plan had caused. It was a great relief for the older children to have the Hogsmeade weekend to look forward.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione left as early as possible on that Saturday, as did most of the other students. By noon however, the crowds seemed to have thinned a bit and the three decided some food at the Three Broomsticks was in order.

"It's been too long since I've had a butterbeer," Ron announced.

But Harry wasn't listening to them anymore. He had seen Hannah, Michael, and Daphne stop in the alley next to the Three Broomsticks to talk to two women in healers' robes. He took a closer look. One of the women was Electra.

"Umm, you guys go on ahead. I'll just be a minute," he said.

"Harry, where are you...?" Hermione asked before Ron grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"Let him go. I'm sure he can take care of himself."

Hermione resisted for a moment but Ron led her into the Three Broomsticks, right past Electra. Once they were gone, Harry walked over to Electra.

"Hello, Harry," she said. "Would you like to join us for tea?"

"Ok," Harry said with a shrug.

"There's a wonderful place just outside town: The Crimson Clarsach." She and her friend began walking and the teens followed. Harry was a bit leery of leaving town but not enough to decline the offer.

They left town, walking west, cresting a hill and descending it, before a large, rundown building became visible at the edge of a copse of trees. Though the old, rambling business seemed to have seen better days, it had a brightly painted sign over the door with a large red harp and smaller pictures of food, drink, and a bed. Though the windows were too dirty to make anything out inside, there was plenty of light streaming through the small windows in the door.

Electra approached the door and knocked smartly.

A wrinkled face appeared in the door's window for a moment, then disappeared again. The door opened and a coarse voice said, "Come in, ladies."

Electra went inside first, then the teens, followed by Electra's friend. The interior was not at all what Harry had been expecting from the outside. This was more like the Leaky Cauldron than the Hog's Head, though decidedly less busy than Harry had seen either of those places. The old man that had answered the door led them all to a large table in the back corner. Electra requested tea and the old man shuffled away to get it.

"Now, how is everyone?" Electra said

A chorus of alrights came from the teens. The women smiled.

"Good. I expect you know why we're here. Remember that you are not to admit to coming to this place. You are to say you were in the dungeons of the castle if anyone questions your whereabouts," Electra's companion told them.

"Harry, I think you're the only one who doesn't know my sister Aurelia," Electra said, gesturing to the other woman.

Harry recognized the name and mentally kicked himself. It suddenly occurred to him that other than the teens beside him and Ron, he hadn't seen anyone in town with Death Eaters or sympathizers in the family in over an hour. Snape's wife, Aurelia, had written about an attack and he had planned to figure it out in advance but had done nothing.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Harry," Aurelia said.

She seemed nice, nicer than Harry had expected from Snape's wife, but he had more important things on his mind.

"The attack's now, isn't it?" he asked.

Both women nodded solemnly.

"You deceived me," Hannah accused Michael.

"Your mother asked me to," he replied, his hands up defensively. "She knew you wouldn't stay out of harm's way if you thought people needed protecting."

"Hannah, I really must ask that you stay here," Electra said sternly. "This charade is delicate and everything needs to go as planned or our people could be placed in much more danger. If the plan works, your friends will be safe throughout."

There was another knock on the door just then, sharp and urgent. The bearded old man that had invited Electra and Aurelia in went to the door and opened it. In stalked Severus Snape in billowing black Death Eater robes, his mask clutched in his left hand, his wand in his right. He quickly surveyed the scene and scowled at Hannah and Harry who were still standing awkwardly, wondering if they should return to the village.

"Battle is no place for divided loyalties," Snape said. "Ms. Abbott, Mr. Potter, sit down."

Snape's classroom voice got immediate results from the indecisive students. He came to stand beside his wife and rested a hand comfortably on her shoulder.

"What is their story?" he asked the women.

"They're to have been in the castle," Electra replied.

"Are we sure they weren't in the hills outside town on an amorous outing?" Snape asked.

His wife snorted and Electra smiled. The students looked at one another, surprised to have heard what must have been a joke from Snape. Aurelia put her hand in Snape's and stood. They walked away from the table and talked quietly while Electra tried to distract the teens from everything that was going on.

Suddenly, there was a gust of wind in the room and a crash as two masked Death Eaters landed on the floor, a crumpled felt hat clutched between them. Electra and Aurelia were at their sides immediately.

When the masks came off, Harry recognized Lucius Malfoy and Augustus Rookwood. Both were wounded, bleeding from various places with a limb each obviously broken.

"We're retreating but things went our way," Rookwood told Snape through gritted teeth.

As the two healers went to work on the injuries, Snape gathered his students together with some difficulty as they watched the scene before them and led them out of the bar and into the valley.

Snape led the teens to the northeastern end of the valley. After picking their way carefully through the dense forest there, they came upon a well-concealed standing stone roughly a meter high. There were markings engraved on it but the moss that had grown over the stone made then impossible to decipher.

"Mr. Potter, say something in parseltoungue, quickly," Snape said.

"I need a snake," Harry tried to explain.

Snape growled in frustration and glared but it had no effect on Harry. Meanwhile, Daphne was examining the stone. She knelt and peeled the moss away from a section of engravings that was only partially covered. Her work revealed a picture of a snake.

Harry looked crookedly at the snake picture and managed to hiss, "Now what?"

The stone reacted to the parseltongue by seeming to grow, pulling the ground with it. Everyone moved back out of the way as the mound grew larger and larger until a door appeared. Snape reached out and opened it, holding it and shooing the teens through one by one.

Once they were all inside, he said, "Keep walking until you find another door, then open it and hurry inside. Make sure you close the door behind you. Once you're back in the castle, Daphne, take them all straight to the old Arithmancy classroom and stay there for at least twenty minutes. After that, go together to the Entrance Hall and pretend you have been in the castle for the last hour."

Daphne and Michael nodded immediately. Snape did not wait for Hannah and Harry to do so. He closed the door and the teens were left in the dark for a moment before Michael cast _Lumos_. The others followed suit and began walking down the long, dark, stone passage towards the castle.

"What is this place, and why didn't Snape come too?" Harry asked.

"Shh," Daphne said. "He had to go back to Hogsmeade and pretend he couldn't find you."

"And this is an old siege tunnel," Michael added. "It had to be long enough to get a messenger beyond the camps of any enemy that laid siege to the castle and the end had to be hidden so they could get out without being caught and no one who didn't know about it would be able to find it and sneak into the castle."

"Then how did Snape know about it?" Harry asked.

"The Head of Slytherin always knows the dungeons better than anyone else. There are a lot of places down there that only appear to Slytherins," Daphne explained. "The map room we all used on Samhain is one of them."

"Does all of Slytherin know about this tunnel?" Hannah asked.

"No. There was a rumor back in our third year that this place existed but no one knew anything more about it than that."

By the time they reached the end of the tunnel, they were quite relieved to see the doorway to the dungeons. Daphne opened it and led them in. Once everyone was inside, Harry closed the door and it disappeared into the stone of the wall. They had entered a deserted, grimy corridor deep in the bowels of the castle.

"Come on," Daphne said.

They all followed her along the corridor and quickly realized that it was a good thing they had a guide. There were so many turns on their path that only Daphne knew where they were. A few minutes later, they found their way onto a corridor that was familiar to Harry as one near the Slytherin Common Room's entrance. There wasn't anyone around and the portraits all seemed too busy to notice them; some were expertly feigning sleep while others read or painted, one groomed his dog, and still more frames stood empty. Soon, Daphne stopped and opened a door to reveal an empty classroom.

"Everybody in," she said.

For twenty minutes, they paced nervously, examined their surroundings, or sat and fidgeted. When their patience finally wore out, they left together to rejoin the student body and find out what had happened. They met a few Slytherins on their way, all headed from their Common Room to the Great Hall. As they approached the Ground Level, the noise rose to a steady roar. The whole school was assembled and there hadn't been near so much chaos since the Weasley twins had made their escape the previous year.


	22. Interlude

"Where were you Potty? Did the Boy Hero run and hide?" Malfoy taunted as Harry crossed the Hall.

Daphne pushed Harry along and put several people between them and Draco before the confrontation escalated.

"Oh thank Merlin, there you are Potter," Professor Sprout said when Harry and his friends passed by her. She tapped her wand to a pebble in her hand and it glowed red before returning to gray.

"Students! Everyone is to return to your Common Rooms immediately," Professors Sinistra and Vector were shouting as they walked among the students.

Professors were also shouting other instructions:

"To your dorms! Prefects take roll! Inform us immediately if anyone is missing! Professors will speak to you as soon as they can!"

Slowly, the crowd of students thinned as professors herded students towards their dorm rooms. Harry, Hannah, Michael, and Daphne parted ways, each heading to a different Common Room. It wasn't until he had reached the Fat Lady's portrait that he found Ron and Hermione. They were standing outside the open entrance with a list and a quill. Hermione said the name of every student that went into the Tower aloud and Ron checked them off on the list.

"Thank goodness you're alright," Hermione said when she saw Harry. "We were so worried."

"Yeah, mate. After what I said, I felt pretty stupid. What happened anyway?"

"Not now," Hermione said. "We have to check that everyone is here. We'll talk to you later, Harry."

Hermione shooed him gently through the portrait hole and moved on to the next person in the line that had formed behind him. The Common Room was chaos. Harry chose the most out of the way seat he could find and sat to wait for his friends.

Seamus joined him almost immediately.

"Harry, where were you? One minute everyone was just enjoying Hogsmeade and then the next, Death Eaters were everywhere and Ron and Hermione couldn't find you."

"I'd gone back to the castle," Harry said.

"Oh. The DA wanted to look for you, you know, but we weren't allowed outside."

"I was fine. Sorry I missed the fight, though," Harry lied.

"Nah, it's probably better that you were safe. I hope Professor McGonagall comes to tell us what happened soon. Anyway, do you want to play Gobstones with Dean, Neville, and me?"

"No thanks, Seamus. I'm waiting to talk to Ron and Hermione."

"Sure, ok," Seamus said. He left Harry to return to the game.

Twenty minutes later, Ron and Hermione climbed through the portrait hole having delivered the completed list to Professor Vector in the Entrance Hall and returned. They joined the other prefects for a few minutes and then scanned the room until they found Harry.

"It's so loud here," Harry said as they approached. "Let's go up to the dorm."

Once they were alone in Ron and Harry's dorm room, Hermione cast a silencing spell over the open door.

"How bad was it?" Harry asked. "I know Rookwood and Lucius Malfoy were injured. Is everyone else alright?"

"How do you know that?" Ron asked.

"I'm not supposed to say," Harry said carefully. "Please just tell me what happened."

They both frowned at him for withholding information

"Does this mean you won't tell me anything?" Harry asked.

"Well, we don't really know that much," Ron said. "We were ordering butterbeers when a bunch of people came running into the Three Broomsticks and shouted that Death Eaters were outside."

"Everyone started shouting and we were looking for you. The DA wanted to go after you but then Percy came in dressed in his Ministry robes and told everyone to move to the back of the building and wait," Hermione said. "I didn't even know that Percy was helping the Order again."

"He's not," Ron and Harry said together.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"I mean, I'm pretty sure Percy's a Death Eater, even though he didn't fight today."

"He is," Harry said.

"You're sure?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. I've seen his Dark Mark," Harry answered.

"Wait, when did you see Percy? I'm his brother and I haven't even seen him in more than a year."

"When I was home last," Harry said.

"He went to your muggle relatives' house to show you his Dark Mark?" Ron asked with disbelief.

"No. I wasn't staying there and I visited Percy, not the other way around," Harry said.

"Oh, were you at the new Headquarters? " Hermione asked.

"No. I have my own house that no one in the Order knows about."

"That's not safe Harry," Hermione said impulsively but when Ron and Harry gave her pointed looks, she shrugged and asked, "Is it safe?"

"Very. And I don't think I have to worry about the Death Eaters attacking me at the moment. I'm actually more concerned about how the Order, and Dumbledore especially, will act when they find out that I haven't been true to their cause all year."

"Now you both know that I'm not slow, but you're going to have to explain that to me," Hermione said. "Why do you think you're safe from Voldemort?"

Harry sighed and leaned back on his bed before continuing. "I wasn't anywhere near the battle today because a friend who happens to be the wife of a Death Eater, was in town. When I stopped to say hi, she invited me to join her for tea outside town. I found out then that Hogsmeade was under attack and I was being kept safe."

"And that's how knew who was injured," Hermione said.

Harry nodded.

"Are you sure they aren't keeping you safe for their own reasons?"

"I'm sure they are Ron, but they've been much more upfront with me about what's going on than the Order has."

"So you're keeping company with Death Eaters?" Hermione asked with a frown. "Are you going to start acting like them?"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Am I still going to be your friend? They wouldn't accept me, you know, because of my parents."

"I'm not a blood-purist and I won't ever be, Hermione."

Hermione bit her lip and thought about it.

"I trust you, mate. Just, let me know next time something is up, if you can. I'd like to stay out of any future battles, I think," Ron said.

"Thanks, Ron. Hermione?"

"I trust you too," she said. "Stay safe though, Harry."

//-//-//-//-

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to the Common Room, they heard that they had missed Professor Vector's visit. Apparently, she had said only that all the students and professors were accounted for and safe and everyone would have to continue to be patient while the professors sorted everything out.

As the afternoon drug on, the students became more and more anxious for news but with the portrait hole closed and locked to all but the seventh year prefects, there wasn't much anyone could do about it. Eventually, house elves appeared and politely asked students to vacate the study tables which they then transformed into two long tables on which they served supper.

By nine o'clock, with still no word, the prefects began sending the younger students to bed and forcing the older ones to keep quiet. By midnight, everyone fourth year and below had been sent to bed and the others were beginning to lose patience and head in that direction themselves.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were among the last ones to give up and go to sleep. Ginny, however, outlasted them all. She was clearly annoyed that she, a loyal daughter of two important Order members, knew very little about what had happened. Harry was annoyed as well, primarily because Dumbledore was supposed to be making an effort to keep him informed. He had long-since accepted that Aurelia Snape, once only an anonymous Death Eater to him, did a much better job of keeping him informed, but that didn't stop him from rolling his eyes over Dumbledore's lack of consideration for the boy who was supposed to win the war for him.

//-//-//-//-//-

When they woke the next morning, the portrait hole was still locked and Ron was grumbling about having to take a shower in the Gryffindor bathrooms instead of bathing in the prefects' bathroom.

The first real news of the previous day's attack came, not from the busy professors (most of whom were Order members as well), but from the Daily Prophet which arrived around the time that breakfast should have been served.

_**Death Eaters Attack Hogsmeade**_

_By Mallard Crock, Staff Reporter_

_Yesterday afternoon, Death Eaters were seen on the streets of Hogsmeade. Though they and the professors of Hogwarts School did trade spells, St. Mungo's reports that they received no wounded from the battle. Some readers may note that this engagement is hardly a surprise. Ever since Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, began his education at Hogwarts, there has been an annual springtime conflict of some sort. But where was our young hero this year? No one knows. Having received warnings and cautions for his past dangerous missions, has the teen heeded his elder's advice and learned to accept protection from his professors or has he simply turned into a coward? Though it has been suggested that Mr. Potter may have been unaware that an attack was occurring, an anonymous source claims instead that the teenage boy who has had the most success opposing the Dark Lord Voldemort left Hogsmeade only moments after the first robed and hooded figures were seen at the edge of town. Even the cries of peaceful patrons and young students, many of whom may have come to rely upon the heroics of the young man that brought more than a decade long cease-fire, did not bring Mr. Potter back..._

"This is total rubbish," Ron exclaimed, crumpling Hermione's copy of the paper into a ball and tossing it onto the floor. "This Crock fellow makes it sound like you ran away from the battle."

Most of the rest of Gryffindor was more concerned with the details of the battle than with the paper's opinion of Harry and the lack of certainty regarding the outcome was the subject of conversation for several minutes, at least until it was overtaken by the complaints about missing breakfast.

Finally, Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore came to the Tower. Dumbledore took Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione aside while Professor McGonagall lectured the rest of the house, warning against a repeat of the riotous behavior of November 1st.

Dumbledore told them that none of their friends or family had been hurt. He also asked about their perspective in the battle. Ron, Hermione, and Harry spoke in as vague terms as possible whenever they had too and allowed Ginny to do most of the talking. Ginny, who had been in Honeydukes at the time, mentioned that Mr. Honeyduke had made them stay inside and she hadn't been able to see what was going on. Ron and Hermione only nodded their heads to indicate that their situation had been similar and said nothing, especially about Percy having been there. When Dumbledore asked Harry what he had been doing, Harry said he had just left to go back to the castle before the attack started and he hadn't even known about it until later. Surprisingly, this pleased Dumbledore, who was already in a much better mood than he had been lately. Dumbledore let them go after kindly reminding Harry that it was okay to let the adults of the Order do the dangerous fighting until it was time for him to do his duty. Harry was glad that Dumbledore and Ginny both turned away after that so his grimace went unnoticed.

Students were freed from their Common Rooms and classes resumed that afternoon, but not before a surprise at the late breakfast. A whole flock of owls arrived for Harry. It was deja-vu from the Rita Skeeter episodes of fourth year. Harry didn't like it at all. As Ron, Hermione, Neville, Seamus, and Ginny read excerpts from a few, Harry got more and more irritated. Some letters called him a coward and accused him of hiding during the attack. Others were complaints that he should have been there to save everyone and kill the Death Eaters. Some said not to listen to the Daily Prophet author and to remember that he was just a kid and didn't have to save anyone. Harry put a stop to the letter reading quickly. He really didn't care to hear more. He used his wand to burn them one at a time, checking the envelopes of each in case he recognized the handwriting but none of it was familiar. Once the entire pile was turned to ash and the entire Great Hall was staring at him, Harry vanished the pile and stood. Purposefully, he walked out of the Hall as Ron and Hermione hurried to follow.

//-//-//-//-//-

Harry's mood was low until he received an unexpected owl late one night. Inside the package it had brought was a necklace of wooden beads, all lightly charred and smelling slightly of fragrant wood smoke. They were pleasantly warm to the touch, as if a gentle warming spell had been cast on them.

_Harry,_

_I hope you are alright and the aftermath of the attack hasn't been too stressful for you. I must ask you not to reply to this letter. It isn't long until the end of term now and I would like to wish you good luck on your exams. However, the chief reason I wrote is to explain the accompanying gift._

_Yesterday was our Beltane celebration, on the day some would call Old Beltane. These beads are made from parts of our villages' sacred fire. Those who attended the celebration took home a burning piece to relight their own hearths, however, for those who cannot return to the village for Beltane, family members make these. There is a bead each of the nine woods we burned: birch, oak, rowan, willow, hawthorn, apple, vine, hazel, and fir. There is a spell to preserve some of the heat of the fire but that spell will wear off. Until it does, wear the beads as a necklace or a bracelet, perhaps hidden under your robes, to bring prosperity for yourself, your household, and your family. You needn't be worried about people knowing you marked the passing of Beltane; it is a Light holiday and the Potters have traditionally celebrated our holidays so it would not surprise most people, even those that do not practice our traditions._

_Until we meet again,_

_Electra_

Harry tied the string around his neck and tucked it under his pajama shirt. A little help of the divine sort couldn't hurt.

The next day, Harry noticed Hannah, Daphne, and Tracey wearing similar beads proudly. A few other Slytherin girls, some Ravenclaws, and a second-year Gryffindor also had new wooden jewelry that had similar charring but probably wasn't from the same fire in the villages. Harry was surprised that none of the other males seemed to have beads until he caught a glimpse of Michael's concealed under his sleeve cuff during a Charms lesson. Harry then realized that, like him, many other people might have their wood better concealed. Seeing the beads reminded him that he wasn't alone. That, combined with the eventual end of letters from _Daily Prophet_ readers, did a lot to improve Harry's mood.

//-//-//-//-

It became quite obvious as the month advanced that final exams, OWLs, and NEWTs were the chief concern of most of the student body. Ginny was in a near-constant state of panic, rushing about reciting spells and theory to herself or using her fork to practice wand movements over supper. Even Harry and Ron were putting some effort into studying. While Harry did not have to worry about extra lessons, having told Dumbledore he wasn't interested, Ron still had dueling practice and Flitwick did not let up on him because of nearing exams. In fact, Ron was back to pouring his aching, limp body into bed two nights a week because the lessons were getting harder and he was much more tired in general. Times like that, he would recite a mantra to himself: "Just a few more weeks and I'll have a whole month without lessons." It was a night between those days that Ron and Harry were taking a much-earned break from work of all kinds that Ron mentioned that he and Hermione were growing apart. Though Harry thought it was probably just how busy they both were with school and lessons, Ron denied that. Still, they were acting like good friends, though admittedly not anything more, and as far as Harry could see and that was what was most important.

//-//-//-//-

By the end of the month, Harry had discussed his supposed summer plans with Dumbledore and, though he had made a show of protesting loudly, he was secretly pleased that the Order was sending him back to the Dursleys all summer. He would be able to sneak away and spend his summer relaxing again, likely without being missed. Knowing that it would probably cost him exorbitant amounts of money to get the Dursleys to cover for him, Harry asked Neville how to go about making a withdrawal from Gringotts without actually being there. Following Neville's instructions, Harry arranged to have 2000 pounds and 100 galleons delivered to him by secure Night Owl. He then wrote to Aunt Petunia and told her that if she behaved herself all summer and didn't blow his chance at freedom, he would pay her 1000 pounds at the end of the summer. He considered it a good thing that she did not write back demanding more money and, having sent it with Hedwig, he knew she had received it and been forced to read or suffer owl bites so he assumed that they had a deal.

Harry knew he would spend his summer in Eyrie's Edge which meant that August would be entirely filled with school. Still, there was the second half of June and all of July to consider. He would be able to see the Blacks and maybe visit Percy and Charlie, he would probably have letters from Aurelia Snape to look forward to, and there was the Quidditch pitch to make use of, but Harry still found himself wondering if it would be possible to have Ron and Hermione visit him. Even if it was only once, seeing them over the summer would be nice.

"What are your plans for the summer?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione quietly once when they were all alone in an empty corner of the library.

"We're both staying with Hermione's parents for a month," Ron said.

"I don't suppose you can come too?" Hermione asked.

"No. Dumbledore already told me he wants me to stay with the muggles."

"That's too bad," Hermione said.

"Not really. I'll be able to stay at my own house without being missed. Maybe you could both come visit sometime."

"Well, it would be possible but is it really a good idea?" Hermione said.

"Sure. You won't be able to go outside but you can come through my floo and leave the same way."

"Won't your parents worry?" Ron asked Hermione.

"Not if we visit while they're at work. I've already discussed security plans with Professor McGonagall and we won't have a guard during the day. We could get away once a week if we're careful."

"That would be great. It will be pretty boring if I have to spend the summer with mostly just my house elf for company," Harry said.

"You have a house elf," Hermione said with disapproving scowl.

"Oops," Harry said. He hadn't meant to mention that to her.


	23. At the Station

On June first, it was announced to much cheering from the student body that Defense exams, excluding OWLs and NEWTs of course, would be cancelled for the year. This was because yet another Defense professor would not see out the school year. Professor Burke had resigned her post with almost no notice. A prominent researcher and ex-curse breaker for Gringotts had offered to take on her case and work on breaking the curse that had her speaking in tongues. Not willing to risk losing the attention of the talented man who had a reputation for being impatient, she had decided she simply could not remain to teach the last two weeks of class and administer the Defense exams.

Come exam week, Harry barely noticed that the Defense exam had been cancelled. The sixth year exams, though neither OWLs nor NEWTs, were certainly difficult. When it was finally over, the Gryffindors' spirits improved dramatically. The final day of term, Professor McGonagall took Harry aside. She offered to owl-sit Hedwig and also gave Harry a muggle mail address to reach her at over the summer. The very next day was the Feast. Without any Gryffindor heroics or Quidditch to bring last minute points, the House Cup was a close race. When they arrived, Gryffindor's red and gold decorations were in place, however, in a move painfully akin to the ceremony at the end of Harry's first year, Dumbledore awarded a few "last minute points." It seemed that earlier that morning fourth-year Hufflepuff Bernard Bowen had rescued first-year Ravenclaw Haley Giles from the clutches of the Whomping Willow. In an unexpected turn, Hufflepuff won by 2 points for the first time in 47 years and Harry and the other Gryffindors suddenly knew how the Slytherins had felt five years prior.

It was a subdued procession of Gryffindors, accompanied by sickeningly cheerful and celebratory Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, and Slytherins. Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and Harry took a compartment with Neville and Luna Lovegood. All six of them were nearly silent for the better part of half an hour. Luna read the Quibbler upside-down and backwards, ignoring her traveling companions' doldrums. The Gryffindors eventually stopped moping after Draco Malfoy and Crabbe and Goyle came to visit. Malfoy's taunts about the boot being on the other foot and how this was the start of many more disappointments prompted Harry to stand up and get in Malfoy's space. Malfoy, who was unaccustomed to people who did not show him proper respect including staying a comfortable distance from him, backed up each time Harry stepped forward. As Harry told the defiant Malfoy to get out repeatedly and in several different ways, Malfoy was unknowingly backing himself out of the compartment. The blond teen did not notice his mistake until Harry shut the compartment door in his face.

After that incident, the Gryffindors were somewhat less disheartened. They chatted amicably about next year and Ginny and Luna's OWLs, changed into their muggle clothes, and eventually, as the train pulled into the station, they found that they were again smiling. They departed the train looking none the worse for wear and were met by equally cheerful Order members Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

"Harry," Mrs. Weasley said with a broad smile. She enveloped him in a tight hug that had once brought Harry a lot of comfort.

"Hi Mrs. Weasley," Harry said, though his voice was muffled by the embrace.

She let him go.

Her husband said, "My, you've gotten tall. It's been too long, Harry."

"If only it weren't for this war, we'd have you stay with us, you know," Mrs. Weasley said.

"Yeah. I understand," Harry said glumly. As much as he liked his freedom, he did miss the Weasleys. The logical part of his mind told him the feeling of guilt would only get worse the more time he spent around them but that didn't stop the longing for the friendly camaraderie and relaxation of the Burrow.

As Mr. Weasley gathered Ginny's things and talked with Ron and Hermione as they prepared to spend time with Hermione's parents, Mrs. Weasley looked Harry over.

"You're trunk is in your godfather's bag?" she asked.

Harry nodded.

"I see you had new clothes made," she added.

Harry nodded again.

"So you're doing well. I was worried. Are you going to have enough to eat this summer?"

"Yeah," Harry said.

"Ok. Well, we should all be leaving. Let's go find your relatives."

The Weasleys and Hermione walked down the platform and through the barrier onto Platform nine where the muggles family members waited for the students.

"Ah, there's your aunt, Harry. We'll see you next term, alright. Have a good summer," Mrs. Weasley said, hugging him quickly and then giving him a gentle push in the direction of Aunt Petunia before seeing Ron and Hermione off with the Grangers and then ushering Ginny towards a Ministry car waiting for them in the parking lot. Harry waved goodbye until they had pulled out of sight, then sadly turned to his aunt.

"Umm, hello, Aunt Petunia," Harry said as the muggle woman approached. Something was off. Petunia Dursley never smiled like that where her nephew was involved.

"Hello, Harry. How was term?"

"Fine. Uhh, Aunt Petunia, what was our deal last summer?"

"Oh, there were so many," she said dismissively, as if hoping to avoid the issue.

"Any of them, I suppose. I'll match whichever one you choose for this summer's deal," he replied.

"Umm... Look, Harry... can't we all just get along this summer?"

Harry took his wand from his pocket and held it so that his bag kept it from general view but 'Petunia' could still see that it was pointed at her. If he hadn't already known that there was a problem, he would have when he saw 'Petunia' shift into a defensive but not an intimidated posture at the sight of the wand. Harry assumed that this person was either Tonks or someone under polyjuice.

Harry looked around, trying to find familiar faces in the crowd. Though he would have preferred to see Electra, he was relieved to recognize her sister, Aurelia Snape, watching him from the shadow of the ticket counter and dressed like a security guard.

"That's an excellent idea. Why don't you wait here for just a minute while I ask if I can get a tube pass for the summer," he said as he walked towards Aurelia.

"I don't think that's a good idea," 'Petunia' said, hurrying after him. "You're not supposed to leave the house."

Harry dodged around a crowd of muggle families getting off the latest train. The fake aunt lost sight of him long enough for Harry to run up to Aurelia and ask, "Is she one of yours?"

Aurelia, who had been watching the scene unfold with increasing comprehension, shook her head barely enough to register.

The fake Petunia caught up then and grabbed Harry's arm. "Don't you dare run off like that, Harry!" she shouted.

"Ma'am, you are hurting this young man. If it continues, I will have to report you to my superiors as a suspected child abuser," Aurelia threatened, her voice icy.

'Petunia' let go of Harry's arm and sighed. "I'm sorry, I was just worried. There are a lot of people out to get my nephew and I can't be too careful."

A hint of a smirk could be seen on Aurelia's face for a moment before it was replaced by a concerned expression. "Ma'am, that is highly disconcerting... Have you ever been diagnosed with a mental disorder?"

"I most certainly have not. And Harry and I should be leaving now," the fake aunt said, grabbing Harry's arm again.

In an instant, Aurelia had whipped out a set of handcuffs and snapped one around the other woman's wand arm. Then, she spun the imposter and snapped the other wrist, the one that had been holding Harry, into the other cuff.

"I think you need to come with me," Aurelia said, leading Petunia away towards the security office, Harry trailing happily behind and keeping an eye out for anyone who might be following them.

As soon as they were inside the deserted security office, 'Petunia' appealed to Harry. "Harry, tell her I'm fine. We have to get you home."

"She's probably not insane," Harry said lazily.

Aurelia turned to him and smirked. "I am duty bound to investigate my suspicions. Something is clearly wrong with this woman." Then she whispered, "No child should grow up feeling unloved. She can tell that to whoever sent her. Too bad we can't have some fun with the real thing."

She turned back to 'Petunia', she asked, "Ma'am, I ask again, have you ever been diagnosed with a mental disorder?"

"No, I have not... look, I knew when you cuffed my right hand first and not the one I held Harry with that you knew I was no muggle. Are you a Death Eater?"

"You are not in the position to ask ridiculous questions, Ma'am. May I have your name please?" Aurelia said coolly, opening a drawer and removing a clipboard with several papers all titled _Incident Reports._

"Petunia Dursley."

Turning to Harry, Aurelia asked, "Is that correct, young man?"

Harry pursed his lips and replied, "Nope."

"I see," Aurelia said, scowling at the imposter. She muttered to herself, "Subject, no... Suspect gave false name."

"Harry, what are you getting at?" the imposter shrieked.

Harry couldn't help but wince at that particular tone of voice.

Aurelia caught the response and noted on her clipboard, "Evidence of prior abuse apparent."

"That's a lie!" 'Petunia' shouted. "You have to let us go. I know you're no muggle so you must know who Harry is! You can't keep us!"

"Suspect seems paranoid and also entertains illusions of grandeur, especially surrounding the adolescent in her care," Aurelia muttered while writing.

"Son, err... is your name Harry or did she lie about that as well?" Aurelia asked with a smirk very much like her husband's.

"Yeah, I'm Harry," he admitted after a moment. There was no point in denying that, even if it would have sent the fake Petunia into hysterics.

"Very good, Harry. Would you like to tell me about your treatment by your... aunt... did she say?"

"No, I don't see any need. There are probably enough files with my grade school and Child Protective Services that I need my own filing cabinet. Besides, it would take all night to list what the Dursleys have done to me."

"Harry, you have to understand that we left... kept you there because it was the only safe place. We did it because we care about you," 'Petunia' protested.

"Suspect does not dispute allegations of abuse nor records with Child Protective Services," Aurelia noted, clearly enjoying herself.

Harry checked his watch. They would have to keep at this for another thirty minutes, he guessed, to see if the imposter was using polyjuice. If it was Tonks, they would have to wait for her to confess, which could take longer.

But the imposter was trying a different tactic than pure denial. "Ma'am, I wonder, could you take these restraints off? They're hardly necessary. I promise not to hurt Harry."

Aurelia scoffed.

"I think they should stay on," Harry said. "I don't believe her."

"Don't worry, Harry. She's staying right where she is until we get to the bottom of this."

"That's it!" the imposter screamed. "I know that you aren't a muggle so stop interfering with Ministry business! And Harry, how can you trust some random person on the platform and not me?"

"How!? Constant Vigilance and all that! Don't you know that they teach us in grade school that we should always trust the police? Well this is me, doing what I should have done years ago. Pity you aren't the real Petunia because she truly deserves to be here."

"Ma'am," Aurelia said before the imposter could say anything. "If this is some sort of government operation, I should have received notice and I should have your partner knocking at the door and confirming your story. Since I have neither, we'll be getting the real story out of you before anyone goes anywhere."

"But... but... he's Harry Potter! Stop playing muggle. No muggle would grab my wand arm before the one allegedly abusing Harry!"

Aurelia chuckled. "Suspect employs numerous unfamiliar slurs or code words including 'muddle' and 'wand.'"

Harry, inspired by how much fun Aurelia was having, began asking questions of his own. "So you say this is a Ministry operation?"

"The Old Crowd... you know," 'Petunia' answered.

"So you're a Ministry official?"

"Yes!"

Aurelia turned so that Harry could see her face but Petunia could not. She was smiling gleefully. "Is your Aunt a government employee, Harry?"

"Nope," Harry answered.

"Suspect is suffering from the delusion that she is some sort of government agent."

"Harry!?!" the imposter shrieked.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to lower your voice, particularly when addressing your nephew," Aurelia cautioned sternly.

"But this is an outrage! Take these ridiculous muggle bracelets off of me! Who would have thought a muggle could disarm me."

"Disarm?" Aurelia asked, her voice betraying a hint of playfulness. "You are armed?"

The imposter did not answer, perhaps unsure if muggles meant something different by 'armed'.

"I'll have to check you over for weapons then," Aurelia announced, setting her clipboard down and stepping towards 'Petunia.' The imposter was then subjected to a pat-down and purse search during which time a vial of polyjuice potion that would likely have looked like poison to a muggle and a set of enchanted lock picks were uncovered and confiscated. When Aurelia found the wand, Harry interjected to assist Aurelia in her charade of ignorance.

"Oh, can you please take that away. She shouldn't even have that. She's not allowed," he said.

Aurelia feigned confusion as she pretended to inspect the stick, then shrugged and tossed it into the lockable drawer that already held the imposter's other items. The search finished, she locked the drawer and pocketed the key.

Picking her clipboard up again, Aurelia wrote and said, "Suspect found carrying vial of unknown but vile-smelling liquid, lock picks, and strange wooden rod, the latter perhaps for beating her nephew, judging by his reaction."

"No! I don't beat him and I certainly wouldn't use a wand to do it," 'Petunia' exclaimed.

Aurelia turned to glare at her. "Why don't you sit down, Ma'am. It looks like we'll be awhile."

When 'Petunia' met the glare with one of her own, Aurelia took a menacing step forward and pushed the woman bodily into the crude office chair. The woman looked quite taken aback at being manhandled and her face assumed a more Petunia-like expression of irritation.

Harry checked his watch and saw Aurelia doing the same. This was taking a long time. In his mind, he was going over a list of Order members who worked for the Ministry. He doubted this was Tonks or she would have tripped and fallen flat on her face at least once already and wouldn't have needed to carry polyjuice in her purse.

"Ma'am, would you like to give me your real name yet?" Aurelia asked.

'Petunia' scowled. "You are out of your league, woman."

"No she's not. And you're not actually with the Ministry, are you, because you're definitely not Tonks," Harry said. "How early did you take the potion? We only have a few more minutes before you start to change back, don't we?"

The imposter scowled. For a moment, Harry thought she would tell them her name but then, where she had sat handcuffed, there was suddenly a tabby cat.

In an instant, Aurelia had drawn her wand and sent a full-body-bind at the cat. It hit its mark and Professor McGonagall froze in place. Aurelia smirked at Harry and pointed to the handcuffs which had disappeared during the transformation only to reappear in miniature around the cat's front paws.

"Well, well, well... the cat's out of the bag now. Minerva McGonagall. So, Harry, what shall we do with her?"

Harry frowned down at the frozen but still aware cat. "I don't know. I don't want anything bad to happen to her. I think maybe we should find out what she was doing. I doubt that Dumbledore would have sent her alone so either her back-up saw her taken and planned a rescue mission or Dumbledore didn't send her."

Aurelia smiled and reached into her pocket. She removed a tiny trunk, placed it on the desk, and enlarged it to normal size. She opened it and Harry saw a row of vials fastened to the inside of the velvet-lined lid. Aurelia chose one vial of clear liquid and turned back to McGonagall. Pointing her wand at the cat, she ended the body-bind and cast the spell to force her back to her normal human form. The professor opened her mouth to say something but before she could, she was bound again and Aurelia was pouring three drops of the potion into her mouth and then removing the body-bind once more.

"What is your name?"

"Minerva McGonagall," she said. The potion must have been Veritaserum since her voice was the same distant, empty tone that Harry had come to expect from those dosed with that truth serum.

"Are you a member of the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Yes."

"Did that organization send you to impersonate Petunia Dursley?"

"Yes."

"Were you assigned back-up for this mission?"

"No."

"Were you to rendezvous, check-in, or otherwise report your status during or after this mission?"

"No. It was assumed that I would be successful and I would report at the next meeting."

"When is the next meeting?"

"I cannot say."

"Is it the subject of a Fidelius charm?"

"Yes."

"Are you yet missed?"

"No."

"Very well, then. Tell me: are you aware of the nature of the wards around the Dursley home?"

"Yes."

"So if I told you that Harry was placed in a home with the expectation that he would be abused and neglected, you would not be surprised?"

"No."

"But you are aware that Harry's family is abusive?"

"Yes."

"How long have you known this?"

"I had suspicions from the day he was placed with those people but I did not understand the extent until January, when Mr. Potter showed me a letter from the healer he had to see last summer."

"But you continue to believe that Privet Drive is the best possible place for Harry?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because it protects him from the Death Eaters. I do not like it, but it is necessary. If he needs help, I hope that he will go to his healer and then return to his home."

Aurelia laughed cruelly. "Would you believe that his healer is a Death Eater's wife?"

"No."

"If that was true, would you still say that living with the Dursleys is best for Harry?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I do not know why this woman would help Harry. I would have to forbid Harry from seeing her."

"Then who would treat the injuries inflicted upon him by his family?"

"The Order has healers."

"Have they ever visited him during the summer before?"

"No."

"Were they there last summer when he needed immediate care?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don't know."

"But you still think that Harry is safest trapped within the Dursley residence?"

"I don't."

"You don't? Why not?"

"That's correct. I am of two minds on the matter."

"Then where else would you place Harry?"

"I don't know. I'm sure Dumbledore could find somewhere for Harry."

"Have you expressed your disapproval of the Dursleys to Dumbledore before?"

"Yes."

"How has he reacted?"

"He hasn't agreed with my recommendations."

"But you could make him agree this time?"

"No."

"So what would you do when Dumbledore sends Harry back to his abusive relatives?"

"I don't know."

"Would you leave him there?"

"Only if he had a portkey to an Order healer and something was done to stop the worst of the abuse."

"Do you think Dumbledore would stop the abuse when that is what the wards are built upon?"

"No, I don't think so."

"So you do not agree with Dumbledore that Harry should stay at the Dursleys' home given the current familial relations?"

"That is correct."

"I see. I think that's enough about Harry. Let's discuss you. Do you support Dumbledore's opinions regarding the International Statute of Secrecy?"

"No."

"Do you support his opinion that muggleborns are equal to wizard-borns?"

"Yes."

"Do you approve of his methods – of bringing the wizard-borns down to the level of muggleborns rather than raising the latter up?"

"No."

"Why do you oppose the Death Eaters?"

"I do not support blood-purism, dark magic, or attacks on muggles, muggleborns, and non-combatants."

"Do you celebrate Midwinter, Midsummer, Samhain, or Beltane?"

"Yes."

"Which ones?"

"Midsummer."

"Do you know that there were once pureblooded families of the light, as there are of the dark today?"

"Yes."

"And you know that the McGonagalls, your family by marriage, was one of them?"

"Yes."

"Do you know that there are those who sympathize with the Dark Lord but do not practice the Dark Arts?"

"Yes."

"Are you aware that your sister, her husband, and three of her children were killed in the Shadow Massacre?"

"No."

"My condolences, then. I thought you knew." Aurelia administered the antidote to the truth serum, then closed the trunk, shrunk it, and returned it to her pocket. By that time, the antidote had begun to take effect. As soon as McGonagall came to, sadness came over her face and Aurelia put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"We all lost people that day," she explained.

"They told me she had died in the same attack that killed my husband."

"Whoever told you that was probably well-intentioned. You should know that your youngest niece is alive and well. She is married and has a son of her own now."

"Why do I believe you? Did you give me an Impressionability Concoction?"

Aurelia laughed. "No. I assure you, I speak the truth and you merely believe what you wish to believe."

Suddenly, McGonagall realized something. She tried to reach for her wand but found herself still handcuffed. "You're a Death Eater," she said. "Harry..."

"Don't worry, Professor. I'm not in any danger from Aurelia," Harry said.

"What?" McGonagall asked, confused.

"She's trying to protect me. And, I don't plan on spending the summer at the Dursleys. I've been invited to stay the summer in the same place I stayed last time."

"Why was she following you then?"

"To make sure those filthy muggles didn't hurt him before he could use his portkey," Aurelia answered with a snarl.

"Muggles aren't filthy," McGonagall protested in her best Head of House voice.

"The Dursleys are," Harry and Aurelia answered together.

"Well, I'm afraid I must concede that point," she admitted with a scowl.

"But you are mostly right about my being a Death Eater. I do not follow my Lord into battle but I do serve him faithfully," Aurelia said.

"So what are you going to do with me?" McGonagall said. "I don't plan to go down without a fight."

Aurelia smiled. "I don't plan on fighting you. I am reluctant to use a memory charm because you have clearly learned a thing or two in the last hour-and-a-half but I cannot let you report back to the Order that Harry has taken company with myself and another who serves my Lord. I wonder; your niece is a charms expert. Perhaps she could adapt a Fidelius so that you are incapable of divulging certain things."

"I think... I think I would like to meet my niece and her family. I am not comfortable with submitting my mind to tampering of any sort but I abhor memory charms. I only ask that the spell be explained to me before it is cast."

Aurelia smiled. "I think that can be arranged. Harry, you can go home. I will take good care of Professor McGonagall and I promise to send Aly by later."

Harry nodded. "Please don't try to hurt Aurelia, Professor. Besides the Weasley twins, she's the only one who's ever done something like this - trying to save me from the Dursleys."

"I will behave myself, Mr. Potter. Go on then... and be careful."

Harry nodded and then activated his portkey. The security office disappeared in a whirl of color before he was deposited on the floor of his home in Eyrie's Edge.


	24. Toy Trains and Board Games

The view stopped spinning and Harry picked himself up off the floor of his home. With a contented sigh at being home again, he called a greeting to Cedar and then went to climb the stairs to his bedroom. For an hour, Harry had a great deal of fun unpacking. To most, it might have seemed like a chore but to Harry it was a sign that the house was his and it and everything he left in it would continue to be his for as long as he wanted them to be. After years of owning nothing and barely having a cupboard to call his own followed by a few years of borrowing a bedroom and hiding what little he did own under a loose floorboard or in a locked trunk, seeing his things coming out of his trunk and being placed in a more or less orderly fashion around his house was quite satisfying.

It wasn't until after supper that Aly arrived with a letter.

_Mr. Potter,_

_As promised, I shall tell you what I can while still respecting the wishes of Professor McGonagall's family. She was introduced to her niece and her niece's family. It was a happy moment, though there were also some tears. The charm was cast and the Professor has returned home. I am hopeful that she will honor her blood family rather than continue to fight for the Headmaster but I understand that her loyalties to him and to her late husband are strong, as are her objections to some Death Eater practices and principles. Only time will tell, I suppose._

//-//-//-//-//-//-

Having gone mostly without Quidditch for the term, Harry decided he would try to go and practice at least once a week. With any luck, Dumbledore would re-allow Quidditch and Harry would have to be in shape and ready. To get himself off to a good start, Harry headed to Brocksett the very next evening and practiced for two-and-a-half hours before he stopped and noticed that he had an audience.

"Harry," Aurelia said in greeting.

Harry walked over to where she stood with her two children. "Hello."

"This is Harry Potter," she told her children. "These are my children, Atellus who's six and Laevina who's four."

"Hi," Harry told the kids.

"You're a wonderful flyer," Aurelia told Harry.

"Thank you."

"I would love to stay and talk but I was just talking these two home for nap time."

"Don't want a nap," Atellus whined, his speech slurred because he was so tired.

Aurelia patted her son's head and said to Harry, "Will we see you at the Midsummer celebration?"

"Err, I don't know."

"I do hope so. It's on Saturday, in the same place as the Midwinter festival. The religious ceremony starts an hour before dawn but most of us don't show up until morning, when the party starts."

"I might stop by," Harry said.

Thus, on Midsummer's morning, when Aly woke Harry at dawn, he tiredly climbed out of bed and slowly got himself dressed. He was definitely unaccustomed to early summer mornings and two years without pre-breakfast Quidditch practices certainly hadn't helped.

When Harry finally got himself to the field where the celebration was taking place, he looked around for Aurelia or Electra but didn't see them. He wove his way through the crowd, which was much smaller than the Midwinter one had been. As he neared the bonfire, a woman with a huge tray of honey cakes and fresh fruit passed by him, offering food to everyone. In fact, she was rather insistent that everyone take something. When it was Harry's turn, he chose a pear but she also made sure he took a honey cake before she turned her attention to the next person.

Harry continued to search the crowd. Just as he spotted Electra, a young woman with an arm-full of fresh flower crowns stopped him and placed a white one on his head before kneeling to place a yellow one of the head of a young girl. Harry saw the garland slip over the little girl's nose and fall like a necklace before he turned away from the flower woman and walked over to Electra.

"Good morning Harry," she said cheerfully.

"Hi," Harry said tiredly.

"You missed the prayer and blessing," Electra told him.

"Oh," Harry replied, still not entirely awake.

"Don't worry. It's not required," she said with an indulgent smile. "You could have stayed in bed."

"Couldn't. Aly woke me up."

"Well you may express your displeasure to my sister who, I'm sure, is at fault... the early bird. She's right over there," Electra said, pointing Harry towards Aurelia where she sat on a blanket in the grass watching her children eating their honey cakes.

"Good morning Harry," she said.

"Morning," he replied.

"Do sit."

Harry flopped down heavily on the corner of the blanket. Being a teenager was so tiring even without early mornings.

"You look like you'd rather be in bed."

"Yeah," Harry sighed. "But I'm up now."

"That's the right attitude," she said with a smile.

"Mummy, I want more," Laevina interrupted.

"You haven't eaten all of your fruit, dear. Finish those apples and I'll get you another honey cake," Aurelia told her daughter.

Turning back to Harry, Aurelia frowned. "There isn't really any news to pass on to you."

"That's ok," Harry said. "I'd rather not talk about the war anyways. It's fine in letters but I'd really rather hear about other things in person."

"That's good. I suppose it minimizes conflict, doesn't it, with people focusing on what they have in common instead of arguing politics."

Harry nodded.

"Mummy," Laevina interrupted again. She had decided she was done eating and wanted into her mother's lap instead.

Aurelia picked the girl up before turning back to Harry.

They talked about Harry's schooling and Aurelia's work as a healer. What most interested Harry though, was her mention of her very own headache-remedying potion. Harry vaguely recalled something about her and headaches from one of her letters so he asked her about it.

"My potion was the only thing that would ease the headaches my Lord got whenever you were being abused," she said.

"Oh. Is that how you knew? I guess I thought Professor Snape had told you."

"Severus did not believe what I told him about your treatment and how it affected our Lord. More recently, he has changed his mind."

Not much later, when Harry yawned for the fifth time in ten minutes, Aurelia laughed lightly and suggested pointedly that he should probably go home to bed.

Harry apologized and assured her that he wasn't yawning because of her. Before he stood to leave, he told her, and consequently also her two children where they sat beside her, about the Secret of his house. He invited her to visit over the weekend when he was sure Ron and Hermione wouldn't stop by. She accepted and promised to visit on Saturday, a week from that day, no earlier than ten am. Harry said goodbye and used his portkey to go home where he forced himself to stay awake the rest of the day with a cold bath, complicated transfiguration homework, and a short flight around his yard in his animagus form. Nighttime did not come soon enough. Harry fell asleep in his mashed potatoes over supper.

//-//-//-//-//-

When Ron and Hermione floo-ed into Harry's sitting room for the first time, Harry was truly pleased to see them. He offered them a tour of the house ending in the basement dining room where Harry and Cedar procured seats and refreshments and several magical games to play. While Ron and Harry played Wizard's Chess, Hermione spent much of that first visit interrogating Cedar despite the elf's insistence that she was quite happy and Harry's insistence that she had an awful lot of freedom already, especially with his being gone for most of the year for school. It wasn't long before Cedar was obviously so offended and annoyed by Hermione's persistent and often pointed challenges that she sought permission to leave from Harry who quickly granted it and added that he would never ask her to endure anything she considered offensive or demeaning and she would always be free to remove herself from any such situation without seeking his permission. Though he was serious, his words were meant more for Hermione than the house elf. To Harry and Ron, it was clear that Hermione's quest for elfish freedom _was_ demeaning in Cedar's mind but Hermione was blind to the signals.

After Cedar left, Harry banned war, politics, and house elves as topics of conversation and the discussion became significantly friendlier as all three ate biscuits and played their way through a strange and very old labyrinth game that even Ron had not played before. After a several-hour-long visit, Ron and Hermione went back through the floo network to the Granger house and Harry was left on his own again.

Between then and the next time Hermione and Ron came to visit, Harry occupied himself with homework, lazing about the house, and begging Cedar to let him cook something until she relented and allowed him to make his own biscuits. During that time, Aurelia visited to chat and Regulus and Electra stopped by to check on him and to drop off a school supply list for August school. They left only an hour or so before Harry's friends came through the floo.

When Hermione and Ron arrived, Cedar had already deposited the tray of tea and biscuits in the sitting room and disappeared. Hermione spent only a moment looking for her before giving up and offering Harry the gift she had brought him.

"Happy early birthday, Harry. I wanted to make sure you had enough time to work through it."

Harry took the present and found it to be a workbook of NEWT practice exercises.

"Thanks, Hermione," Harry said, setting it aside and directing his friends to the board games and refreshments.

Hermione sifted through the pile of games until she found one she liked. Unfortunately, Ron had a different opinion of the game which his little sister had owned as a child.

Ron groaned loudly. "You want to play _that_?" he whined.

"Yes," Hermione replied indignantly. "It looks like a game I used to play with my Mum and Dad. Besides, knowing what Arithmancy suggests we would enjoy will be good for our career planning this year."

She read the faded and battered pink box aloud. "A fun family game that mixes Arithmancy, luck, and your choices to tickle your fancies and spark your imagination. Is your favorite future in the cards? Find out. Play again and again.

"Please note "This is Your Life" board game and Parkinson Brothers and Co. bear no responsibility for the accuracy or inaccuracy of your game play."

"But if it tells your future, why own the game?" Harry asked, thinking that there was only so much divination a person could take.

"I don't know... there's things you have to choose, aren't there. And if you choose differently, it says you have a different future. That's why people play it more than once," Ron replied.

"Did Ginny like it?" Hermione asked.

"For a while she did. Then one day she took it to her room and played by herself a few times and then decided she didn't like it anymore. Maybe she didn't like the future."

"But if she chose it, she has to like it, right?" Hermione asked.

"Not necessarily. Someone could be a victim of circumstances or they may not like it now but in the future, they might actually prefer it to their other options..." Harry said thoughtfully.

"Do we really have to play, Hermione?" Ron whined.

"Well you could do something else I suppose, but I thought the point was for all three of us to do something together."

"Oh, fine," Ron relented.

Hermione passed him one of four decks of cards, a silver game piece shaped like a Crup, and one of the copies of the Arithmancy and Divination instructions. She then gave Harry a set with a game piece shaped like a Snitch and took one for herself with a unicorn-shaped piece.

As Hermione consulted the instruction booklet, she directed the boys on how to start the game. First they had to do some basic Arithmancy by tapping their game pieces to the correct numbers on the board. Once that was finished, they started the board game by each rolling a ten-sided dice and moving their game piece around the winding path of a game board. Each turn, they landed on a space with different directions and instructions such as, "You are owed money," "Take a card from the top of the deck of the player to your right and put it randomly into your deck," or "Congratulations, you have made the front page of the Daily Prophet... but why? Draw a random card from your deck."

As the game progressed, players accumulated cards and answers that appeared scrawled on their instruction sheet. Some of the results were amusing and some were more serious. Harry was pleased to notice that the Death card was apparently not in anyone's near future. When they had all circled the board, Hermione read the final instructions for the interpretation of the Arithmancy and card results.

She laughed happily at her own results. The game suggested, among other things, that she would be happily married to a wizard by age 23, would eventually have two children and a large home, and would make her living in an as-yet-unknown career that would please her.

Harry's results were somewhat more vague than Hermione's. The game also neglected to find a career for him. It suggested he would eventually be married but could not say whether or not he would have children. He was unsurprised that the only thing the game was reasonably sure of was that he would have a comfortable home.

"I think the game must work better for children," Ron said. "I remember playing it when I was around seven, I guess, and everyone got everything filled. It changed every game, though, so I guess that's a trade off."

"What'd you get Ron?" Hermione asked.

"Er, I'd rather not share," he said, frowning at his results and keeping them carefully from common view.

"Come on. You've got to give us something," Harry insisted. He had had to share so Ron was not going to get off that easy.

"Alright. Big house, six kids, married to a pureblood witch by 20. Don't ask about the rest; I don't want to share."

"Ok. That was fun. Let's play again," Hermione said.

"No," Harry and Ron said together. Once was plenty for them.

"Fine. Harry, you pick a game this time," she said.

As Harry sifted through the pile, he reflected that not only had the game said that Ron and Hermione wouldn't be together, but also, they didn't seem surprised by it. In fact, they hadn't acted like a couple for a few weeks. Harry shrugged the question off and passed his choice of game to Hermione so she could help him set up while Ron put away the other game.

A couple of hours later, Ron and Hermione floo-ed home and Harry tidied up. Cedar was still out but he didn't mind. In fact, he took advantage of her absence to make himself a quick supper.

Harry's letter from Dumbledore arrived while he ate.

_Harry,_

_I am pleased to be able to say that there have been no new attacks since my last letter. The Order has thus been able to focus on political battles such as the promotion of greater rights for muggle and squib relations of witches and wizards. Perhaps once school begins again, you can lend your popularity to the fight. Another well-known name couldn't hurt. In the meantime, do study for NEWTs. They're, of course, exhausting but I expect you will do well with a bit of work._

_- Albus Dumbledore_

He scribbled a quick, meaningless reply for the Headmaster and then sent Fawkes on his way. Harry reluctantly admitted that he should probably spend a bit of time on his homework so he went in search of his schoolbooks.

//-//-//-//-//-

At ten am on Saturday morning, Harry sat himself on his porch to enjoy the warm summer breeze while he waited for the Snapes to come visit. Around ten-thirty, all four of them arrived. He showed them all to the sitting room. Aurelia chose one of the two armchairs. The little girl took to exploring the room right away while her mother watched to make sure she stayed out of trouble. Professor Snape took a seat on the sofa and his son promptly climbed into his lap. Harry wondered if it was hard for them that the Professor away for so much of the year.

Harry and Aurelia spoke for a few minutes. It surprised Harry she seemed truly interested in his schooling and his friends. He answered a bit evasively, often with sideways glances at Professor Snape.

Having finished her exploration of the small room, Laevina returned to her mother's side.

"Mummy, can Telly and me play toys?" Laevina whispered loudly to her mother.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask Harry? Go on. He won't bite."

"Harry," the girl asked timidly, "umm, do you have toys?"

Harry frowned. "I don't think there's anything for little kids. I'm sorry."

"I'm not a little kid," Atellus protested from his father's lap. "I'm six," he said.

"Not a problem," Aurelia said, taking the tea cozy from the table. "Watch closely. This is almost always on the Transfiguration NEWT," she said before setting the tea cozy on the floor and casting a spell. In an instant, the tea cozy split into several piece and became a toy train set. Aurelia cast the counter spell and the pieces came together into a tea cozy again.

"You try," she said, passing the tea cozy to Harry.

It took Harry three tries to get any results before he handed it back to Aurelia and she changed it to the train set again so her impatient children could play.

"It takes practice," she said nonchalantly. "It's hard to turn one thing into many or vice versa. The key though, is to focus on the many things as part of a whole – a train set instead of a toy engine and a circle of track and a station platform and whatever else you want to create."

Harry nodded and made a mental note to try it later when Professor Snape wasn't watching him so critically.

While the children played, Harry, Aurelia, and Professor Snape talked. Uneasy about discussing himself, Harry directed the conversation more towards safe topics like Quidditch. As it turned out, Aurelia was quite a fan though that hardly surprised Harry after the first conversation he had had with Laevina. What did surprise Harry was that Professor Snape knew a good bit about Quidditch as well. A brisk debate about the best plays for various situations led them right up until the children became too rowdy and their parents decided it was time to leave. The elder Snapes and Harry exchanged goodbyes and planned to meet again sometime the following weekend.

//-//-//-//-//-//-

The next day, Harry received two letters.

_Mr. Potter,_

_You may wish to know that my Lord's people have suffered loses this weekend. Two of our own were killed in an attack on muggles. Their names were Eric Penrose and Walter Barbary. I have known Walter and his wife since we were children. I won't be able to visit you this week as I will be helping with the funeral arrangements._

_Harry,_

_Two Death Eaters were killed in an attack on muggles yesterday. They planned to kidnap two officers in the muggle Royal Air Force but were shot dead with those firearms things. It is good to know that muggles can sometimes take care of themselves._

_Remember to be kind to your relations and don't forget your summer homework._

_- Albus Dumbledore_

Harry set the letters aside sadly. People were still dying over the stupid war. Someone should really do something about that.

//-//-//-//-//-

"Harry!?" Hermione called from the sitting room. She was only a bit early for this week's visit.

"Hey, Hermione. Where's Ron?" Harry asked.

"I can't stay but I had to tell you that Mrs. Weasley came to take Ron home. She said that the Order is worried about Voldemort and she thinks it would be best for me and for Ron if he was home at the Burrow with her."

"I though they were staying at the new Headquarters."

"They were. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny moved back to the Burrow. Harry, I'm really worried. Do you think Voldemort will go after my parents?"

"I don't know," Harry replied truthfully.

"I'm going to start going to work with them. I don't want them out of my sight. They can't protect themselves. What if there's an attack and I'm not there?"

"Hermione, calm down..."

"I can't calm down! I have to get back. Bye, Harry," she said before turning and throwing a handful of floo powder into the flames and shouting, "Number 23, Heather Blossom Drive," and disappearing in a swish of green flames as she went back home.

Harry immediately wrote out a letter to Aurelia and another to Electra asking if he, Ron, or Hermione were going to be attacked. He sent the letters with Cedar who quickly delivered them. She returned with a letter from Electra that said she was sure he was safe and his friends were surely well protected by the Order. Cedar told Harry that he had delivered the letter to Aurelia and the woman had sent her home. This angered Harry until, ten minutes later, Aly arrived with a letter that completely washed away that rage. Aurelia had taken so long to respond because she had checked her sources and made sure Harry and his friends were safe. Harry sent his thanks with Aly and relaxed considerably.

//-//-//-//-//-

"Harry?!" Ron called from the sitting room fire. Harry had not been expecting calls or company only two days after Hermione's brief visit.

Harry went quickly to his sitting room and found Ron's face in the fire.

"Hey, Ron. Where are you calling from?"

"The Leaky Cauldron. It's the annual sale today in the Alley. Mum and Ginny went to look at half-price robes and Dad is meeting Fred and George."

"You're shopping? I thought you were all supposed to be laying low because of some threat from Voldemort."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I heard Mum and Dad talking this morning. There was no threat. Dumbledore found out somehow that Hermione and I were communicating with you. They said something about your wards – the ones in Surrey – getting weaker. The threat was just a lie Mum told me to get me home where she can keep an eye on me. I guess they figure that without me around, Hermione won't break the rules and try to see you."

"They're right. She called yesterday and said she wasn't comfortable leaving her family anymore. She's going everywhere with them in case there's an attack."

"I'll call her next then. She shouldn't be that worried. I have to go. I just wanted to make sure you knew to be careful."

"Thanks, Ron. I will be."


	25. Summer

_Mr. Potter,_

_It is my pleasure to inform you that Professor McGonagall has found her way to our side at last. She has always been one known within the Order for her opposition to Dumbledore's wizard/muggle relations position and it was enough to bring her to us that there are those, including her own family, among us who oppose the killing of muggles. Her increasing involvement among our neighbors has caused quite a stir. Always a persuasive person, our friend has taken it upon herself to rally those of similar mind in hopes of changing the way my Lord and his Death Eaters wage this war. Though hampered by the need to keep her work from Dumbledore's ears, she has already managed enough political and social force to secure an audience with the Governor of Llwellan. She has a winning argument, saying that the war has gone on for so long and the losses on each side are so great that the only way to end the conflict without annihilation of one side or another may be to bring the debate back into the political arena. I do hope she succeeds in making her point but it will not be easy. Blood purism is deeply entrenched in the upper echelons of our society and even though she is not directly challenging it, the repercussions of her proposition would threaten the power the purists have enjoyed under my Lord. Still, I am hopeful that she will succeed and if anyone is in a position for such a thing, it is she._

Harry finished reading the letter from Aurelia and pocketed it. Passing Aly a section of the orange he had been eating when she arrived, he thought critically about the new information. He would not have believed Professor McGonagall capable of turning on the Order. Surely the aged woman would have made her decision a long time ago with the intention of sticking with it. Still, there was a lot he didn't know about the Head of Gryffindor. It wasn't that he didn't trust that Aurelia was telling him the truth; more, it was that he worried about the Order learning of his betrayal. He had seen Dumbledore in battle and he never, ever wanted the old man's wand pointed at him in anything more than friendly aide. He hoped McGonagall was truly joining him on the fringes of agreement with the villagers.

Five days later, as Harry walked through the village on his way to the Snape household, he found that Professor McGonagall's debate was the talk of the village with support and opposition both fervent. Though no one knew for certain who had started it, everyone knew that the Governor of Llewllan and twenty of their most respected fellows were petitioning the Dark Lord. It seemed that Professor McGonagall really had turned. Harry wondered if others might abandon Dumbledore yet. It still bothered him to oppose the Weasleys and Remus.

While Harry was at the Snapes', he asked Professor Snape (who, despite giving Harry permission to use his first name, was still referred to as 'Professor') if it would be safe to write to Remus. The Professor allowed it but warned Harry to be careful what was said. Once he had returned home, Harry set to work crafting a careful letter to Remus. While seeming to be confused by what was expected of him, Harry wrote of how he wanted Remus' opinions, begging his father's friend to be truthful rather than say what The Boy Who Lived was supposed to hear.

Hedwig arrived the next afternoon with a brief note from Professor McGonagall that her niece had passed along a letter from Ms. Langley asking for Harry's owl to be returned to him and Harry was able to send the letter to Remus. Not long after that, Harry received a letter from Dumbledore via Fawkes scolding him for somehow managing to weaken the wards on Privet Drive. Harry sent a cold response essentially telling Dumbledore to keep his nose out of places it didn't belong. Harry hoped the letter sounded like normal teenage angst but for good measure, he threw in an explanation saying "It's hard enough to keep a muggle girlfriend without unexplainable things happening." He knew Dumbledore would have to appreciate that sentiment, given his war aims, and hoped it would be enough to get the Headmaster to drop the complaint.

Within minutes, a response came for Harry from Dumbledore.

_My dear boy,_

_I am so pleased to hear that you have made friends. I do wish I had better news, and perhaps in the future it shall come to pass, but I must ask you not to weaken your wards. I am deeply sorry to cost you such a fine muggle friend as I'm sure you have found, but these are dark times and you, the one who can bring an end to the struggle, cannot afford anything less than the best protection. I know you will understand that now is sadly not the time for romance. This is one time I will have to meddle and insist that you end the relationship and keep to the safety of your Aunt's home._

_- AD_

Harry crumpled the note into a ball and tossed it into the fireplace. He didn't want to hear from Dumbledore and he certainly didn't need advice on dealing with his non-existent muggle girlfriend; he wanted a letter from Remus.

//-//-//-//-//-

Two days later, still expecting a reply from Remus, Harry was startled by a knock on the door. It was Professor Snape and he was wearing the most unpleasant expression Harry had seen him wear since they had left Hogwarts.

"Harry, put on muggle clothes quickly," Snape said.

Harry could tell Snape was serious so he quickly turned to head upstairs before turning back. "I don't have anything that fits," he said. Having worn only wizard's robes, fine trousers, and fancy shirts for a year, he had no idea where his Dudley clothes were and if they were any better than rags anymore.

Snape gave an exasperated sigh. "Then put on boots and come. You must be at your relatives' home before Lupin arrives."

Harry whipped out his wand and _Accio_-ed the most innocent-looking outfit. He left the house with Snape and they waited only until they were outside Harry's gate to take a portkey Snape had made. They appeared with a pop in the shadows of an empty house on Magnolia Crescent.

"Watch what you say and if you can't talk your way out of something, use your portkey and we'll deal with the consequences later," Snape said before sending Harry hurrying off towards Number 4 Privet Drive.

Harry arrived, breathing a bit heavily to see Remus locked in a glaring contest with Aunt Petunia on the front stoop.

"Remus," Harry called.

The werewolf spun and hurried over to where Harry stood on the lawn. Meanwhile, Petunia took the opportunity to slam the front door shut and lock it, going to peak out the curtained window instead.

"Harry, what are you doing out? You're not supposed to leave the house. And why are you walking around in wizard's robes?"

"I can't stay there. And I don't have anything else to wear. I can't very well break up with my girlfriend in my underwear."

"Well then," Remus began, reluctantly agreeing, "I suppose if you aren't leaving the house for the rest of the summer, you can wear what you wish. It's good to know that I don't have to lecture you about the girl. Professor Dumbledore sent me to make sure you had done as he asked."

"Did you get my letter?" Harry asked.

"I did. I understand that you want to think things through yourself and I'm willing to talk you through it. You already know what we fight for, I'm sure. Do you just want to sit in the garden and talk about it?"

"Sure," Harry said.

For an hour, Remus told Harry all about how great Dumbledore's principles were and how much they would help the wizarding world and the muggle one as well. No matter what Harry said, Remus did not stray from his dogged devotion. By the time Remus had to leave, Harry was stressed, tired, sad, and a bit angry. He was forced to acknowledge that Remus would not leave Dumbledore's side. Though Harry couldn't give up hope for Remus entirely, he knew he had pushed as far and as hard as he could without revealing his own hand. Once Remus was out of sight, Harry used his portkey to return to his house, sent Cedar to tell Professor Snape that he was still safe, and then attempted to wash away his disappointment with a long soak in his bathtub.

Unfortunately for Harry, his bath was interrupted more than an hour later by Cedar announcing that he had company. Harry reluctantly dressed and went downstairs to find Electra and Aurelia in his sitting room. The two sisters carried an enormous, aged book which they intended for him to make use of.

"I have a lot on my mind right now," Harry protested.

"I'm sorry. Would you like to talk about it?" Aurelia asked.

"No. The war's stupid. What have you brought?" Harry asked. He intended to stick with his policy of not discussing the war in person. There was more to life than the war, as he was doing his best to remind those who had devoted their lives to it.

"It will only take a few moments. This book is quite popular this time of year and it's owner, our third cousin Drusilla, would go spare if she knew we were allowing a half-blood to use it but we think it's important," Aurelia said quickly.

"You won't have another chance," Electra added.

"What is it?" Harry asked as he sunk heavily into the seat opposite them with a sigh.

"It's a magical book that helps young witches and wizards find the career for them," Electra said. "There's more to life than war, you know."

"It works marvelously," Aurelia added. "I thought I wanted to be a Quidditch player until I used the book and realized I would much rather heal injuries that get them myself."

They spread the book open in front of Harry and waited while he inspected it.

"I'm not a fan of magical artifacts," Harry told them.

"Aside from updating itself, this one works like a pensieve offering the memories of different careers that it believes suit you," Electra said.

"Generations of purebloods have used it without ill-effect," Aurelia assured him.

Harry pursed his lips and looked at their insisting expressions. He trusted them.

Even though Harry was fairly certain that he didn't want to become an auror anymore, that was the page he started on. The book soon agreed that it wasn't the job for him as the pages turned on their own accord, making Harry a bit uneasy. After a few different career ideas, the book turned from the section on government, art, and other upper class pursuits to one on physical labor. Looking through the section's table of contents, Harry had to agree that the sorts of jobs that didn't make such a big deal out of his name and history were definitely more appealing.

Finding an entry he approved of, Harry looked into the luminescent page and was presented with several short glimpses of the sort of work that was done to care for dragons. When they were finished, the book did not wait for Harry to approve or disprove of what he had seen, it quickly turned many pages and Harry was presented with the section on magical artisans. He paged through until he stopped curiously on the entry for magical tailors, seamstresses, and fashion designers. The book did not approve and quickly flipped the pages further until it came to stop on the entry for wandmakers.

_A good wandmaker possesses great magical power combined with subtlety, perseverance, cunning, curiosity, patience, and intelligence. He should also be of steady hands and sharp eyes. As generations of wandmakers prove, this is one career where eccentricity sells. Many a madman has proved his worth through skill and craftsmanship in the field._

_Though in many cases, the trade is passed from father to son, every wandmaker must prove his own value. A name means nothing attached to an inferior product. The master will be demanding and exacting of his materials and perceptive and precise for his customers. _

_The wandmaking trade is learned chiefly through apprenticeship. Insofar as NEWTs are a measure of potential, they are important, however, the general requirement for consideration as an apprentice is only three NEWTs in any subjects. More important is the social and economic position the student and his family possess. It is often quite difficult to find a master willing to accept a student. In some markets, such as the British Isles, it is impossible for those outside the wandmakers' own families to find a position. If this career is meant for you, it may take familial connections to begin study._

"You've found the one?" Aurelia asked when the book seemed to have stopped turning pages on its own accord.

Electra leaned over to read the heading. "He has," she told her sister. "This will take some work."

Aurelia looked at the heading for herself and then nodded, looking thoughtful. "I think I know how to go about this."

"The Ollivanders won't take him," Electra said.

"Certainly not. However, Marguerite Rosier owes me a favor. She will put in a good word with her uncle, Yves Lajoie."

"Is he taking apprentices?" Electra asked. Apparently the name that meant nothing to Harry meant something to her.

"If he isn't, one of his sons will be, though I'd prefer Harry was no farther away than Normandie. I don't know many people who could apparate farther than that from here if we needed to reach him unexpectedly."

"Well, since you've got the connections, I'll just return the book to Drusilla," Electra said, gathering the unwieldy book up.

Both women stood to leave. Almost as an afterthought, Aurelia turned back to Harry and said distractedly, "I'll visit sometime later this week to let you know how things are progressing."

Harry shook his head to himself as the two women left, their minds clearly elsewhere.

Three days later, Aurelia visited to drop off a portkey and instructions for Harry. Yves Lajoie had offered to let Harry visit the shop on the word of Aurelia's friend whom Harry had never met. Harry didn't understand such arrangements but was still pleased to have the chance. He had had time to think about the career book's advice and he was looking forward to giving wandmaking a try. Thus at the appointed time the following day, Harry was ready and waiting for the portkey to activate to take him to the wandmaker's shop.

//-//-//-//-

The wandmaker's shop was cramped and cluttered. Yves Lajoie was a wrinkled old man who spoke heavily accented English for Harry's benefit and was stronger than he looked both physically and magically. His standards were demanding but Harry passed whatever tests Lajoie had set out for him on that first day and Harry was invited back three afternoons a week for the rest of the summer.

Finding Harry to be a hard worker with a real aptitude for the trade, Lajoie soon invited Harry to come every weekday afternoon with the understanding that he would have to begin learning some French so he could do such things as help customers, order materials, and find his way easily through the Rue d'Etoiles that was France's equivalent of Diagon Alley.

Meanwhile, Harry's mornings were filled with trips to the Quidditch field, visits with Percy and sometimes Charlie, and hosting Electra, Regulus, and the Snapes in his own home. He also received his weekly letters from Dumbledore and sent his empty responses. He received the Hogwarts letters and the continued cancellation of Quidditch notice. Before Harry knew it, it was the last weekend in July and the annual market in Llewllan arrived.

Harry spent his morning purchasing his school supplies from both his school lists and from the note Aurelia and Professor Snape had sent him of recommendations for NEWT preparation. Harry's afternoon was spent first with Aurelia at the home of Headmistress Vablatsky arranging for Harry to miss afternoons of school in August in order to continue at the wandmaker's shop. After that, he sat at home with his nose buried in a French grammar school book in an effort to please Lajoie.

That evening, Harry received an unexpected visit from Fawkes.

_Harry,_

_I realize that this letter arrives a day earlier than is traditional but I thought it a good idea to update you on an important matter as soon as possible. This morning, Professor McGonagall sought to retire from the old crowd. Though she can still be called upon in an emergency and you should, of course, trust her to fulfill all her continuing duties as Head of Gryffindor House, she is not to be kept informed of Order news, plans, or information. Though she is not the oldest member (a distinction that belongs to myself), nor the first to retire, I do believe it may be best for all involved. She was never as strongly devoted to our cause as her comrades and even sought to limit the more riotous celebrations after you killed Voldemort when you were but a baby due only to the fact that muggles were noticing magical happenings. But I digress. _

_There have been no new attacks and we have shifted focus to gathering intelligence for the time being. It is my hope that we will be able to develop the tools and the sources to locate Voldemort and begin an offensive campaign. With any luck, you will be able to finish him off before NEWTs._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Harry scribbled a quick, standard reply and sent Fawkes away. He had long since learned to let Dumbledore's words roll off him harmlessly, even when Dumbledore threatened to throw him into battle with a mass murderer within the year. It just didn't matter anymore because Harry had control of his life and the choice was his.

//-//-//-//-//-

The day before Harry's birthday, Percy stopped by to offer to take Harry to the Ministry the following morning for the apparition testing. Harry accepted the offer, eager to gain all the rights of an adult wizard and so, the next morning, he was awake early and dressed and waiting for Percy. When Percy arrived, he and Harry floo-ed to the Atrium of the Ministry. As Special Assistant to the Minister, Percy was able to bypass the security checks and bring Harry along with him. Thus Harry was able to avoid the wand check and the fact that he was in the building at all went unrecorded until he was sequestered in a room in the Apparition Testing Center where he was sent apparating around London. Of course, he passed on his first try, becoming a fully certified, adult wizard and then he bid Percy farewell and returned home to celebrate with a quick nap before he had to be in France for the afternoon. That evening, he returned home to find several presents that had been delivered by owl. All in all, it had been a pleasant birthday.

//-//-//-//-

The very next day was the first day of August school. The morning was a large class for all of the eighth-year students that covered NEWT preparation and a lighting-quick review of the main subjects. In the afternoon, Harry and most of the other eighth-years left for various jobs. Over the course of the month, the routine of school, work, and home was broken only a few times.

Once during the three weeks, Electra and Regulus visited. Twice, the Snapes stopped by. Harry also received one letter from Aurelia about how well Professor McGonagall's campaign to end attacks on muggles was progressing.

In the second week, Lajoie offered Harry a post-Hogwarts apprenticeship provided that he earned four NEWTs in any subjects. Harry accepted but in his head, he was already juggling the problem of inventing a cover story. He could hardly tell his Hogwarts professors that he didn't need to worry about career planning and securing a position because he had already won an apprenticeship in France when he was supposed to have been locked in a muggle house all summer. It was three more days until Harry decided he would pretend he had been approached to join the Unspeakeables and begin training after school. They were notoriously secretive, even among their own ranks, and no one would be able to verify or discredit his story. Hopefully, the war would be over before he would need a different plan.

Harry received a long, chatty letter from Dumbledore not long after he received the apprenticeship offer from Lajoie. He actually spared some attention on it for its news ot the Weasleys. There was little in the way of war news and the letter was largely about how sorry Dumbledore was to hear from Remus that Harry was not pleased with his situation. Dumbledore explained that the war was very dangerous for Harry and the safest place really was with his aunt and uncle. While Harry could understand Dumbledore's perspective, it still irritated him, especially when those words seemed only to be an afterthought brought on by how much effort Dumbledore put into describing Bill and Fleur's wedding which he had not allowed Harry to attend despite the wishes of the Weasleys and Fleur. Harry sent a slightly angry letter back, knowing he sounded petulant, and didn't expect or receive a reply.

Instead, two days later, Harry had just returned home from France when he got a fire-call from Ron. Mr. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie were to pick him up a week early from Privet Drive. Worried that Harry was loosing his touch with the movement, Dumbledore had given the Weasleys permission to host Harry in the hope of shepherding him through what Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley called his teenage rebellion phase. Harry snorted and Ron smirked even as he did his imitation of his mother speaking with Dumbledore. If Harry's behavior really had been teenage rebellion, one week would hardly make a difference.

Harry was up most of the night packing and writing letters to make sure everyone knew where he had gone and why. In the morning, he tiredly dressed in his most inconspicuous wizarding clothing and slung his bag over his shoulder. He disapparated and appeared on Privet Drive. After crossing the wards and making his way into the yard of Number 4 much to the dismay of his relations, he hid his bag in the bushes in the backyard and then took a seat under a tree and set about putting the finishing touches on his Transfiguration homework.

More than two hours later, around the time that Uncle Vernon came to remove him and Harry threatened him with perfectly legal magic, the eldest Weasley men turned the corner of Privet Drive and cautiously crossed the wards. Harry feigned surprise at seeing them and waited while they explained what they were there for. Harry then pretended to have to pack his things, went to use the back door, and grabbed his bag. Waiting a respectable amount of time, he then walked back to the front of the house and allowed Mr. Weasley to apparate him back to the Burrow.

It was pleasant and relaxing at the Weasley household. Talk of the war had been relegated to private whispers by the increased security after Halloween of the previous year. The house was emptier than Harry had expected, with only Ron and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Though Ginny had been there when Harry arrived, she soon left to spend a week at her boyfriend's house. She had stayed only long enough for him to learn a bit of war news from her. The Order had caught a spy in their ranks. Harry didn't recognize the name and Ginny said he had given very little information under Veritaserum and Harry wondered if this person was truly a spy at all. Ginny told him that the man had been sent to Azkaban and fitted with a device that only Dumbledore could remove that served to block his magic. Harry thought it was inhumane but Ginny said that she felt the spy had earned the Dementor's Kiss and he had got off easily having his magic taken and being sent to Azkaban. After that conversation, Harry was relieved to see Ginny leave. Her fanaticism was stressful and her idea that turncoats deserved to have their souls sucked out was a little to personal for Harry's comfort.

At various times during the week, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Fred, and George visited. Harry took the opportunity to speak with each of them privately about what they really thought about the war and why they supported Dumbledore. Just as with Remus, he claimed he was trying to understand his situation and wanted to hear their opinions. All but Ron and Charlie had no problems telling Harry what they thought. Mrs. Weasley, herself a member of an old pureblooded, light family, explained that she could respect the old ways but doubted very much that they would last and wizards should prepare for the change by adopting parts of muggle culture which was much more open to change. Mr. Weasley told Harry how he wished wizards wouldn't isolate themselves from muggles. It just created misunderstandings, he thought. Bill told Harry that he thought muggles should definitely know about magic. The pyramids proved to Bill that ancient Egyptian muggles had known and made use of magic. He felt it was important for muggles to know about magic so that they could learn to work with wizards but also be prepared to defend themselves against those like You-Know-Who. Fred and George claimed that it was quite simply good business sense to want muggles to know about magic, though they also purported to support the same principles as their father and eldest brother.

As far as the war went, it was a disappointing week for Harry. He had found no new allies among his old friends. Still, he reminded himself that a few disagreements were natural among even the best of friends. Setting the war once again at the back of his mind, he set out to enjoy the company of the Weasleys before he had to return to school.


	26. Detentions

On the morning they were to meet the Hogwarts Express at King's Cross, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Fleur helped Harry and Ron pack their things into a single Ministry car which was larger inside than out and then they all piled in for the ride into London.

Due to Fleur's habitual tardiness, they were a bit later leaving than Mrs. Weasley would have liked and by the time they arrived at the station, it was time to board the train.

Ron climbed aboard first and went to the prefects' compartment where Hermione and Ginny would be. Harry tripped climbing onto the train and hit his knee hard against the step. Without thinking, he cursed softly, using a French word he had picked up in Lajoie's shop. Fleur was not far enough away to have missed his slip and she scowled at his language.

"He was spending too much time with Charlebois and Lafontaine, I theenk," she said, blaming Harry's language acquisition on two particularly dirty-mouthed Beauxbatons students that had visited Hogwarts for the Triwizard tournament.

Harry hurriedly climbed onto the train. He would have to be more careful. He traveled the length of the train in search of an empty compartment and finally found one near the end. As the train pulled out of the station, Harry watched Fleur nervously and hoped she wouldn't think too much about what she had heard. Not long after that, Ron returned with Hermione in tow. The latter was proudly wearing her shiny new Head Girl badge and chattering happily about how it was both a surprise and an honor to be awarded the position. Ron and Harry laughed heartily at this and Hermione stopped, blushing.

"Ok, so it wasn't a surprise but it is an honor," she admitted.

"Right. A surprise would be like my win in the Sussex Junior Division Dueling Competition this summer," Ron said proudly.

Harry groaned and rolled his eyes. Ron had already told him this story four times and now it was Hermione's turn to hear it. Harry stood, excused himself, and left the compartment. He wandered the corridors for a while, greeting friends and impatiently submitting to the introductions of first-years, excited to finally meet Harry Potter. Eventually, he returned to his compartment for the rest of the trip.

//-//-//-//-

It was pleasantly warm as the sun set on Hogsmeade and students took longer than usual to get into the thestral-drawn carriages and begin the journey to the castle but soon enough, all the first-years had gone with Hagrid and all the older students had left the station. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had ridden together in one of the first carriages in the line. They were thus among the first to enter the Great Hall. As Harry and Ron made a beeline for the Gryffindor table, Hermione elbowed each of them and gestured towards a new pink-haired professor. From the way she kept knocking over her glass, clanking her silverware against her plate, and bumping the table as she gestured in illustrating her conversation with Madam Hooch, this could only be Tonks.

Dumbledore saw them looking towards the Head Table and smiled and waved them over.

"Welcome back, Harry, Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger. Harry I have asked Professor McGonagall to speak with you. If you could visit her office, I believe she is waiting for you."

Harry turned away, lest Dumbledore see him roll his eyes, and headed back out of the Hall.

The familiar walk was quick and mindless as Harry hurried to reach his Head of House's office so he could return to the Feast. Finally there, he knocked at the door to Professor McGonagall's office.

"Enter," she called.

Harry opened the door and stepped inside.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. The Headmaster asked me to escort you to the Ministry of Magic for your Apparition test. Close the door behind you."

Harry did as he was asked and as soon as the door was closed, he turned back to her and said, "I've already passed the test, Professor."

"I thought you might have, Harry. Well done," she said. "There is another matter to discuss as well. Professor Dumbledore wants you to take lessons with Professor Tonks. Though you may not wish to study for the purposes he intended, I would encourage you to consider taking the lessons anyways. Tonks is, after all, an auror and she could teach you skills necessary for entry into the Ministry training program."

"I've decided I don't want to become an auror, Professor."

"Have you other plans?"

"Yes, ma'am. Should anyone ask, I have decided to work towards Unspeakable training."

McGonagall looked at him thoughtfully. "But you aren't actually interested in that either, are you?"

"No ma'am."

"If you wish to share your plans with me, I will keep them confidential."

"No thank you, Professor. I have already been offered an apprenticeship in the field I want to study but I can't explain how I received that chance so I've decided to say I want to become an Unspeakable."

"It is a good plan and one few people could verify," she admitted. "I wish you luck. You may return to the feast. I will tell Professor Dumbledore that you had no problem passing the test and were in fact one of the quickest test-takers in recent history. I'm sure he will be proud."

Harry returned to find that the Sorting had just begun. He quietly crossed the Hall and sat between Ron and Neville. Moments later, he saw Professor McGonagall slip in through a side door and take her seat at the Head Table.

Before long, the first-years had been sorted and Dumbledore had made his little speech, led the singing of the school song, and finally announced that food was served.

For only the second time in his Hogwarts career, Harry was not so hungry at the Welcoming Feast that he stuffed himself. He was merely pleasantly full when the feast concluded and he stood to begin the long walk to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Harry, if I could speak with you for a moment," Dumbledore said, pulling Harry aside before he could make it out of the Great Hall. "First I would like to say that I am proud of you for passing your Apparition test. Secondly, I believe Professor McGonagall told you that I have arranged for you to take lessons with Professor Tonks."

"I'd really rather not, sir," Harry said.

"Harry, my boy, I know this is a difficult time but you mustn't sacrifice your own security."

"I don't want to take lessons," Harry repeated.

"All the same, you will give Tonks a chance. Your first lesson is this Friday at 8 in her office. If you wish to pass up this valuable opportunity after that, you may do so."

Harry walked away without another word to Dumbledore, grumbling under his breath all the way back to the Tower.

//-//-//-//-

The next day, class began and Harry, Ron, and Hermione learned that their OWLs year had been nothing compared to the workload they were to see in their seventh year. By noon, Harry wasn't sure he would ever finish the mountain of homework he had received already and the day wasn't even half over yet. Despite his own preferences, Harry did relinquish his free time in favor of doing his homework. In fact, for the second night back, he was off to a good start on sleep deprivation. When he finally rolled into bed at 3 AM, he had managed to finish the most pressing of his assignments. He was looking forward to his Tuesday classes: Divination, History of Magic, and even Potions. Compared to the first day's Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, and Defense Against the Dark Arts, it would be an easier day.

//-//-//-//-

Harry did indeed enjoy the break that morning brought. However, Potions class proved a problem. There was a lot of work to do and Harry hadn't really had enough sleep to be able to brew a new potion perfectly on his own. When he mistook the Dung Beetles for the Scarabs, Hermione caught his mistake in time. When he tried to dice dried rat tails instead of cattail pods, Harry was saved only when Malfoy's attempt at sabotage tipped his cutting board and the rat tails fell onto the floor. When Harry mashed his oleander instead of slicing it finely, Snape caught him and Harry earned himself a detention from the angry, greasy-haired git.

"What's the matter with Professor Snape?" Hermione asked Harry after class. "He was much better to you last year, I thought. Why's he acting like this again?"

"Dumbledore must have let up on him," Harry replied.

"Well maybe you should..." Hermione began but trailed off. "Never mind. Can you handle Snape?"

"Sure," Harry whispered back. "I earned the detention anyways. You saw how badly I was doing."

That evening, Harry reported dutifully for his detention. After a surprisingly parental dressing down for poor performance in class, Snape set Harry to work cleaning cauldrons.

Because of his detention, Harry was up even later that night and he got less done. It was only Tuesday and he was already wishing for the break that the weekend would bring.

//-//-//-//-

Thursday, Harry received another detention with Professor Snape, though this time he was pretty sure he hadn't earned it. To his surprise, when he arrived to serve it, he was invited to sit down in Snape's office and work on homework while Snape corrected papers and told Harry news from the villages. The kindness, not unlike Harry's treatment by the Snapes over the summer, caught him off guard.

The pleasant evening with Snape stood in stark contrast to the following evening with Tonks. In between dodging bludgeoning spells and learning new curses, Harry attempted to figure out why Tonks fought for Dumbledore. She told him that she had heard from the Weasleys that he was trying to find out why people fight the war and she wished she could tell him her reasoning but now that she was his professor, it probably wouldn't be appropriate and she would say no more than that it really put a cramp on her social life not to be able to explain the oddities that happened around her to muggles. Though Harry was able to get only a bit more information out of her, he was able to determine that she was not a potential ally. At the end of the lesson, he thanked her for the workout and declined her offer of continued study.

Harry's evenings were still consumed by homework and the weekly 'detentions' with Snape. Luckily, after the first two weeks of school, the homework load eased up slightly and Harry ceased wondering how anyone had managed to play Quidditch their seventh year. It would have been manageable. As it was, Harry began to take one night a week off of homework to either fly in his animagus form or take his broom to the Quidditch pitch and practice. It was a nice break to take, especially when Professor Snape's 'detention' came early in the week.

//-//-//-//-

During another of Harry's weekly 'detentions' with Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall surprised them both by stopping in to discuss Snape's treatment of Harry.

Snape led her into his quarters and almost closed the connecting door. If he listened closely, Harry could still hear the two teachers talking from where he sat in Snape's office working on his Charms homework.

"You have no right to treat him this way, Snape," McGonagall challenged. "I thought Professor Dumbledore had made that clear last year."

"He's a Potter," Snape said, his traditional sneer evident in his voice.

"And you're an adult," McGonagall snapped

Snape didn't say anything for a moment too long.

"Severus!" McGonagall said.

"Would my purpose be clearer if I said, he's an Evans?" Snape replied silkily.

McGonagall paused and then said, "Oh," as Snape's meaning dawned on her. "But he's not his mother any more than he is his father. He's just Harry."

Snape sighed. "I must reluctantly admit that I am now aware of that."

"Then why do you keep assigning unwarranted detentions?" McGonagall challenged.

After a moment, Snape said slyly, "You know, Minerva, I have a question for you as well. I know all about your summer maneuvers. Whose side are you really on?"

"I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about," McGonagall lied brusquely.

"Ah, but you do. Does Albus?" Snape replied with the same sort of malicious enjoyment Aurelia had used when questioning McGonagall at the start of summer.

"Snape, you cannot blackmail me into ignoring this," she snapped courageously.

"I could, actually," Snape said seriously, the sneer gone from his voice and his business tone back. "But that is not my intention. You see, we find ourselves in similar situations... straddling both sides, as it were. I believe you are aware that Mr. Potter is not unfamiliar with that position as well."

McGonagall was silent for a breath's time before she stuttered, "You... you're... you aren't trying to recruit him for You-Know-Who, are you?"

"No," Snape said with a small chuckle. "He makes his own decisions."

"Then what _are_ your intentions?" McGonagall snapped.

"To avoid being blown up in my first year classes, to go the year without a single sherbet lemon, to ..." Snape began almost whimsically.

"Your intentions regarding Harry!" McGonagall interrupted exasperatedly. She was starting to feel too old for people to play with her so.

"Well that would be different," Snape admitted. "To please my wife, to bring an early end to the war, to ..."

"Your wife?" McGonagall interrupted again, exasperation not dulling her attentiveness.

"Yes. I do believe the two of you have met... more recently than when she and I were students, I mean." Snape said.

McGonagall waited.

"She has a great fondness for handcuffs," Snape said very seriously.

Harry snorted into his hand as he hid his laughter. Poor Professor McGonagall!

"I...you...she...Harry..."

"My dear Minerva," Snape began, half teasing and half serious, "perhaps you should have a seat." Snape led her back into the office where she fell heavily into the empty chair beside Harry while Snape took his desk chair.

Professor McGonagall took several moments to return to her normal stern self-control. When she had, she glared at Snape. "So now that you've had your fun, is there anything else I should know? Are there any other Snapes I should avoid, as the gods know two are more than I can handle already?"

"In fact, there are. I have a son and a daughter," Snape said.

"You do?" McGonagall asked, startled. She looked to Harry for confirmation and he nodded.

"I know you'll understand when I ask you not to mention what you've learned to anyone," Snape said.

"Of course," McGonagall replied with a nonchalant shake of her hand. She knew the rules the village families had for keeping themselves safe. "I just had no idea. I never thought of you as the fatherly type. How old are they?"

"My son is six and my daughter is four," Snape replied.

"Wonderful ages, the both. It must be hard for you to be away," McGonagall replied.

He nodded somberly. "Now you know where I go when I disappear."

McGonagall nodded but stopped abruptly. "You never disappear."

"Really, now. How many trips to the Apothecary are truly necessary?" Snape asked, using his best lecturing tone.

"Well, I was never very good at potions," McGonagall replied.

"Nor were any of our colleagues," Snape said. "When I wasn't pretending to be on errands, I was using my Time Turner but as I do not wish to age too rapidly, I try to avoid that method whenever possible."

"Well, if you ever need someone to cover for you Severus, let me know. Perhaps we could take up a weekly chess game or something of that nature."

"Thank you, Minerva, I'll keep that in mind."

Professor McGonagall retreated to her own office near Gryffindor Tower again and left Harry and Snape to their conversation and schoolwork.


	27. Suspicion

The weekly 'detentions' continued without challenge after the incident with Professor McGonagall. Harry always looked forward to the news of the Snapes and the Blacks. There was also news of the war to be had. Aurelia's letters told of the very real effect Professor McGonagall's campaign was having on the movement. In the first week of October, Harry learned that official Death Eater policy had changed and muggles were not to be targeted anymore. Though this wouldn't prevent muggle deaths altogether in a world where Order wizards were often at their most vulnerable among muggles, it would cut the numbers down greatly.

It wasn't long after this news came that Harry had a strange conversation with Ron. Ron came to find Harry alone in their dormitory on afternoon free period and closed the door so they could speak privately.

"Harry, er, this is totally hypothetical but, well, what would you do if, you know, someone we knew wanted to join the Death Eaters?"

"It's their choice," Harry said.

"But, wouldn't you have something to say about it?" Ron pressed.

"Who are we talking about?"

"I'd rather not say," Ron replied uneasily, sitting on the edge of his bed.

"I'd wonder if they knew what they were getting into. It's not just about supporting certain principles. It's about fighting people they've grown up with, family even. There's torture. Could this person torture helpless muggles?"

"They don't do that anymore," Ron said nervously.

Harry didn't reply.

"Er, can I see your arms?" Ron asked.

Harry scowled but unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves, barring his forearms for Ron. "I'm not a Death Eater," he said testily.

"I thought not."

"Can I see yours," Harry asked.

Ron hurried to bare his own unmarked arms.

"You know, you don't have to be a Death Eater just because you don't support Dumbledore," Harry said.

Ron sighed and said, "I know. This isn't about me anyways. But, well, I do wonder if I should be doing something to end the war."

"Don't fight it. If everyone stops fighting, there won't be a war."

Ron nodded thoughtfully.

"Tonks asked Hermione and me to find out if you were Marked," Ron said quietly.

"Should I be worried?" Harry asked.

"Of course not. Hermione and I are more loyal to you than to the Order. You know that."

"I do know it. I meant about Tonks."

"Oh. No, I don't think so. It's more than her job is worth, here or at the Ministry, to openly question the loyalties of The Boy Who Lived without proof."

"So she'll be looking for proof," Harry said concernedly. He would have to be careful. Luckily, Tonks had not done very well in Stealth and Tracking. If he was attentive and trusted his friends to help him, he should be fine.

"Maybe."

"I'll be careful. You and Hermione should pay attention too."

"Yeah. We know." Unexpectedly, Ron shouted "Constant Vigilance!" causing Harry to jump and his stack of textbooks to fall from the bed.

Ron laughed so hard he soon followed the texts to the floor. Not as amused, Harry threw a pillow at Ron but eventually joined him in laughing.

//-//-//-//-

Tonks was watching him. Harry had caught her once when she knocked over a suit of armor while disillusioned. Her voice cursing in pain was distinctive. After that, he started carrying around the detector that Hermione had given him that showed if he was being followed. That was how he found out about the tracking spell she had placed on him to be able to locate him anytime and find out what he was doing. With Professor Snape's help, the spell was removed and Professor McGonagall had a stern talk with Tonks about the rules against casting spells on students. Unfortunately, Tonks did not stop. When Harry caught her following him again, he was not pleased.

"Tonks, show yourself!" he snapped as he caught the sound of her limping after she had stubbed her toe on the staircase. It was really becoming clear why the Ministry hadn't kept her as a field agent, instead allowing her to take a year off, in the middle of a war, when they were already short-staffed, to teach.

She tried to slip away but tripped on the edge of a rug and fell loudly. Resignedly, she undid the Disillusionment Charm and sat up.

"Why are you still following me?" Harry asked.

"Someone has to do it," she said almost cheerfully.

"Why?"

"Because you've strayed and we've all put too much into your care to have it go to pieces now. If you get hurt, we might not be able to win the war," she said seriously.

"I still don't see how that means you need to follow me from the Tower to the Library and back every evening," Harry said. "We both have things to do."

"Well, yes, but this is important," Tonks insisted.

Harry had had enough of her false nonchalance. He put his books on the floor at his feet and unbuttoned his cuffs. He rolled up his sleeves and showed her his bare forearms. "Is that what you wanted to know? Are you hoping to catch me meeting with Death Eaters? Does no one in the Order trust me anymore? I can't get five bloody minutes to myself, can I?!"

"Relax, Harry. We trust you. We just worry."

"Well worry somewhere else! Is everyone conspiring to make sure I have no life? Give me my privacy!"

"It's not like that Harry," Tonks insisted.

"I think I'd prefer if you called me Mr. Potter, Professor Tonks," Harry told her.

"But... I'm sorry. I won't follow you anymore. I... Just try to stay out of trouble... and watch your back around the Slytherins," she said, honestly hurt. She didn't take Harry's formality well., especially since he allowed everyone from house elves to goblins, first-years to his Head of House to call him Harry.

"And you tell Dumbledore not to send anyone else to follow me," Harry ordered before picking up his books and turning to resume his walk back to Gryffindor Tower.

Behind him, Tonks slowly picked herself up off the floor and dusted herself off. She frowned critically, now that Harry couldn't see her. Something was going on with him. He had changed a lot and she wanted to know why, even if Molly Weasley insisted it was only normal growing up. Harry was behaving too much like a Slytherin and Ginny Weasley had told her she thought Harry was probably sneaking around to meet with Slytherins with Death Eater parents. Tonks knew she wouldn't be able to follow Harry anymore, not after he had caught her twice, McGonagall had scolded her, and her tracking spell had been removed. She would have to settle for finding out what she could about Harry's activities from the other students. Of maybe, she thought sneakily, she could come up with something better.

//-//-//-//-

Harry was relieved not to find Tonks following him in the coming weeks when homework and practice exams, real detentions and the fake ones with Snape grew until they had all but consumed already scarce time with his friends. He sometimes caught Ginny staring at him but that wasn't unlike previous years so he wasn't too concerned.

The October Hogsmeade weekend was scheduled for the third weekend of the month and it, unlike the September one, was allowed to happen. It was a much-needed break for Harry and his friends. Anticipating problems like the previous year, Christmas shopping was again on the agenda. They also visited Honeydukes and the Three Broomsticks, the booksellers, and various smaller shops on the main street. Harry and Ron managed to successfully distract Hermione from her studies for the entire day.

Towards the end of the day, they went to shop for robes. Hermione had her uniform robes lengthened to accommodate her recent growth spurt and then she and the boys chose casual robes for her evening and weekend wear. She hadn't thought she would want them before, thinking they would be as constraining as the long dresses that had long since fallen out of fashion in the muggle world. She had expected to miss her jeans but lately, she had been following Harry and Ron's lead and sometimes wearing her single non-uniform robe around the Tower. Now, she wanted to pick new ones but she didn't have any idea what to buy. Ron was terrible at fashion but at least had an idea of what each style of robe was meant to be worn for. Harry, on the other hand, had learned something from his pureblood friends in the village and from his visits to the vampires' clothing shop. Between the three students and the shop assistant, they managed to find Hermione a set of day robes in flattering colors and cuts.

At the end of the day, they returned to the school without event and played a few games of chess, Exploding Snap, and Gobstones before going to bed earlier than their workload usually allowed. It had been one relaxing day among many trying ones.

As Harry crawled into bed, Ginny was meeting with Professor Tonks.

"I saw Harry helping Hermione shop for robes today," she was saying. "How does he know anything about clothes anyway? And where did he get his clothes from? He told Mum that he ordered his supplies the past two years through muggle post but his robes have obviously been tailored and you can't get that without going to the shop."

"Maybe he's just attentive," Tonks mused. "Wouldn't it be lovely if more boys had good taste in clothes? Half of them don't even bother to clean themselves up for a date."

"That's my point though. Harry never cared about his appearance until he started acting really weird at the beginning of last year."

"Have you had any luck finding out more about what he does with his summers?" Tonks asked.

"No. Ron and Hermione won't tell me anything even though I know they saw him at least twice this summer," Ginny said with a scowl.

"Keep trying. Maybe work on Hermione. She's probably feeling guilty about breaking the rules already so a bit of needling might break her. Let me know as soon as you find anything."

"I will."

"Thank you, Ginny. You're doing a good thing," Tonks assured her as Ginny left the Defense professor's office.

"I know," she said before she closed the door behind her and went back to the Tower to talk with Hermione.

//-//-//-//-

On Halloween morning, Harry was called into Dumbledore's office and questioned about his interest in other people's motivations for fighting. Harry kept up decently well and managed to weave a few plausible tales but eventually, he grew tired of the games.

"Professor, I need you to respect what little privacy I have," Harry finally insisted.

"I know it's hard, Harry, but we need to be truthful with each other for there to be any trust..."

"Truthful?!" Harry screamed. He had finally had it. "Would you like to tell me the real prophecy then?!"

Dumbledore blanched. "What do you mean?"

Harry glared disgustedly at the Headmaster. He knew he must have really startled Dumbledore for the old man to lie so badly when he was usually a master at it.

"You know what I mean! You lied about my prophecy!" Harry challenged.

"How did you find out?" Dumbledore asked soberly.

"Did you really think I wouldn't try to make up the Divination work I missed last year when you pulled me out of the lesson on prophecy interpretation?!" Harry sneered, putting his lessons in lying from Regulus to use without even thinking about it.

"I only did what I thought was best," Dumbledore insisted calmly.

"What's the real prophecy?" Harry demanded.

"It was not all that different from the one I showed you," Dumbledore said as if admitting something painful.

"What was it? And why did you lie?"

"You must understand, Harry, that the war is very serious and so many have given so much to see it through with the Light as the victors. You have no choice but to be involved in the war so why should we not take an interest in you, see to your care and education, and raise you properly as your dear parents would have wanted? You must end this war so why do you get angry at us for trying to help you do so sooner?"

"What is the prophecy?!" Harry demanded again.

"I will not say more than I already have," Dumbledore insisted.

"Tell me!" Harry screamed.

"I cannot."

Harry swept his arm angrily across the top of the desk, upturning stacks of papers and dislodging Fawkes as the books he was perched on fell to the floor with a thud.

"Harry, my boy, let's not do this again," Dumbledore said calmly.

Harry growled. "Tell me the prophecy. I have a right to know!"

Dumbledore sighed. "Very well. Listen carefully and I will tell you only once."

Harry sat back in his seat and waited.

Dumbledore took a deep breath and hesitated for a moment, then said, "_The downfall of the Dark Lord approaches ... a child born of the union of old and new... and mother's love will save him... so that he may deliver his people from the Ages of Dark."_

"Is that all?" Harry asked through gritted teeth.

"It is."

Before Harry could say something imprudent, he stood and left the office. Dumbledore had lied. The part Professor Snape had told him had not been in the prophecy. Not only that, but Harry had read that prophecy before. It was not Professor Trelawney's prophecy about him; it had been spoken by Pythia DeSabola, a Seer burned at the stake centuries ago when muggles stumbled across her battling four Dark wizards intent on kidnapping her. She had killed her would-be kidnappers and promptly passed out from magical exhaustion. When she awoke, the muggles wasted no time in burning her for witchcraft. That was one of Tracey's favorite stories for scaring first-years and several of DeSabola's prophecies were analyzed in the book Professor Vablatsky used in her class.

Harry was still fuming that evening when he arrived in the secret room in the dungeons for the annual Samhain gathering. Unlike the previous year, it was less of a vigil as no attacks were planned. Instead, there were drinks and cakes and games to play. The only real break in the celebration was at midnight when Daphne did a complicated spell over the fire and the students were able to watch as their families and the other villagers gathered at a memorial for those who had been killed in the Shadow Massacre many years earlier.

When Professor Snape came to send them all to bed in the wee hours of the morning, he told them that there had been no attacks, no casualties, and no Death Eaters captured. In fact, the only evidence of Death Eater activity on the holiday was the presence of shadowy, black-robed figures at the biggest holiday celebrations around the nation. Wherever there were tipsy witches or rowdy wizards being a bit too loose with their magic, the black-robed figures were there to make sure the Obliviators hadn't missed anyone.

The mood as the students made their way back to bed was just as celebratory as it had been all night. Filch caught two giggling Ravenclaws on their way back to their Common Room and they were stuck with two weeks of detention but everyone else made it back to their beds safely, having actually enjoyed their holiday.


	28. Fight or Flight

The Headmaster asked to see Harry again early in November. He was worried about Harry's intentions and his way of dealing with it was to push Harry more and more. Harry spent scarcely more than five minutes in the Head's office before he again lost his temper and stormed out. From Dumbledore's office, Harry ranted under his breath all the way back upstairs, portraits fleeing ahead of him and students giving him a wide berth. He was nearly to the portrait hole when he decided spontaneously to visit Professor McGonagall. He knew he could not see Professor Snape unannounced lest he risk being seen and getting them both in a mess over how they had reached an understanding and what they were doing with their time together, so visiting his own Head of House was really the next best thing.

He found her in and sitting at her desk, writing. In an effort to be polite, Harry sat pleasantly in the chair opposite her desk and asked about her work.

Knowing that he didn't actually care, she kept her answer brief. "I've been writing for the _Prophet_. 'History Lesson', by Professor Kit."

Harry hadn't read it but Hermione had shown it to him once, commenting on how it was nice that someone was finally giving more impartial perspectives on recent history, such as the events of the early years of the war, before Harry was born.

"What did you come for Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked.

"Dumbledore is a lying, manipulative bastard!" Harry told her.

"Language!" she scolded.

"Do you know what he does to me?" Harry began. Harry quickly forgot his effort to be polite and not rant at Professor McGonagall who was hardly at fault and soon he was pacing and telling the Head of Gryffindor all about the manipulations of the crazy, old, twinkle-eyed coot. Though he had not told anyone but his best friends before, he found himself throwing in the scene he had witnessed with Dumbledore using the Sorcerer's Stone before he even thought about whether saying anything was a good idea or not.

"You must be mistaken," McGonagall insisted. "He told the Order that he destroyed the Stone."

Harry told her what he had seen and about the paper he had found in the library book. Dumbledore hadn't wanted to risk dying of old age without seeing his life's work through. Professor McGonagall was skeptical but she vowed to investigate Harry's allegations and assured him his name would not enter the conversation. Harry, who had ranted himself into a tired stupor, accepted this decision and peacefully returned to the Common Room. He had homework to do and a shower to take but first he felt like writing to Aurelia.

//-//-//-//-//-

Over the next week, Harry had the nagging feeling that he was being followed, tracked, or otherwise spied upon. Though his devices and dark detectors revealed nothing, he was almost certain of it. He made a habit of doubling back, casting tracking countercharms, and checking his detectors often but the stress of this was bothering him immensely. He forced himself to get through the week by keeping in mind that he had a 'detention' with Professor Snape on Friday after supper.

That was where he was when suddenly there was an urgent knock at the door. As Snape stood to answer it, Harry moved to stand in Snape's quarters and closed the adjoining door behind him.

"Headmaster," Harry heard Professor Snape say. "What brought you to the dungeons at this time of the evening?"

"I haven't time for pleasantries, Snape. Something of mine, something very important has gone missing and I must find it immediately. A theft of this magnitude cannot go unpunished. I will be taking your entire supply of truth serums."

Harry heard a hurried shuffling as bottles were checked and removed from the shelves.

"Sir, is this really necessary? What was taken?"

"It is and I cannot tell you what is missing."

"Sir! I cannot allow you to take the Doleoveritas. It is for qualitative analysis only and not to be used on human subjects."

"Of course, you are right."

"Will that be all, sir?" Snape asked tensely.

"No. There will be a school assembly in the Great Hall in ten minutes. Bring your Slytherins."

Harry heard Dumbledore leave, the bottles he carried clanking together as he used a Hover Charm to transport them upstairs. Immediately, Snape shut the door and cast a locking, silencing, and warding spell.

"Harry!" he called.

Harry stepped into the office again but before Snape could continue, there was the sound of the floo activating.

"Severus!" Professor McGonagall said in a rush. "Has Albus been here yet?"

"Yes. What is this theft he..." Snape began.

"The Sorcerer's Stone," she said, holding out a handkerchief and unfolding it carefully to show the few pinches of charred powder that were the remains or the Stone. "I snuck into his office, took it, and destroyed it. I'm sure he's madder than a herd of insulted hippogriffs right now."

"He is. He tried to take..." Snape said but stopped abruptly. "Damn it! He did take it! I thought I'd stopped him from taking the Doleoveritas Potion but it's not there anymore!"

"He is determined to get it back if he can then. I should have known he would be desperate. He was using it to prolong his life until he could achieve his 'life's great work'."

"We don't have time for this," Snape said. "Get back to your office now and take Harry with you. We'll have to get our people out before the assembly."

"Harry!" he called again.

Harry stepped out from the cover of the spell that hid the door to Snape's quarters from the office.

"Pack your bags and have your friends do the same. You know which Gryffindors are ours. Make sure they pack and depart before their classmates leave for the assembly. Do not concern yourself with witnesses. Secrecy is not our aim here." Snape handed Harry two pouches of floo powder. "One for Gryffindors and one for Hufflepuffs. Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger will need it to get to the safety of your home. Leave any extra on the mantle for others to use should they decide to flee. Once you have finished with the Gryffindors, go to the Hufflepuff Common Room. With this bag in your hand, you won't need the password. Do the same for them as you did for the Gryffindors. Then, use your portkey and go home."

"What about the Ravenclaws and Slytherins?" Harry asked as McGonagall led him to the fireplace.

"I'll see to them," Snape said.

"Will that be safe for you?" Harry asked.

"I will make it so. Go."

McGonagall activated the floo and Harry was whisked away from Snape, the two bags clutched tightly in his hands.

"Go through the connecting door to the Tower, Harry. Hurry," McGonagall said. She quickly went to pack her possession and then arranged her office and her own appearance as if she had been there all day.

Meanwhile, Harry burst into the Common Room through the connecting door and searched the crowd gathered there. At this hour, just minutes before curfew, everyone who was not there would be in their dorm rooms. Harry spotted Hermione first and sent her to pack her things with only the somber explanation that they needed to escape. He then hurried to find Ron and the two village children. Within a minute, the four were packing and Harry raced up the stairs to gather his own things, throwing them into his shoulder bag.

Two minutes later, he, Ron, and Xavier were finished packing. Harry sent Xavier home with the portkey his father had provided at the beginning of the year knowing that there might be a need for it. Harry led Ron to the fireplace and told him not to worry who was looking, gave him a pinch of floo powder and helped him stand his trunk upright. Pig was thankfully away on a mail run or Ron would have had great difficulty getting to Harry's house with everything intact. Harry shouted for Hermione and she hurried to levitate her trunk in front of her while clutching a Stunned Crookshanks under her arm. Those departing were gathering attention but, seeing Harry at the center of the excitement as he had been many times before, most people stayed back and gave the Boy Who Lived space to perform whatever heroics they imagined he was off to perform. Only Ginny got in Harry's way as he placed the floo powder bag with the Gryffindor lion on the narrow mantel and prepared to leave, but Harry used the floo to the Hufflepuff Common Room before she could physically block his path. Undoubtedly, she was not pleased with this turn of events.

The commotion Harry's tumbling out of the fireplace caused in the Hufflepuff Common Room was considerably larger than that which his exit had caused in Gryffindor. Hannah, who had been prepared for this moment just as her fellows, quickly stepped up and claimed "War business" before dragging Harry away towards a semi-private corner. There they were met by the four other Hufflepuffs who had ties to the Death Eaters or the villages.

"We have to leave?" the fifth-year boy asked.

Harry nodded. "Right away. I have floo powder if you need it."

They all shook their heads. They had portkeys home.

As they ran to pack and depart, Hannah turned around and shouted to the others, "Make sure Harry knows you're gone."

They nodded and Harry waited where he was and avoided meeting the eyes of the curious Hufflepuffs around him. He waited until he had seen all of them return to the head of the stairs to the dormitories and nod to him before disappearing. Just as the portrait hole opened and Professor Sprout appeared to gather her students to go to the unexpected assembly, Harry dropped the pouch of floo powder, activated his own portkey and disappeared.

As his portkey deposited him on the ground in his home, Ron and Hermione leapt from their chairs in the sitting room where Cedar had been watching them nervously. Harry picked himself up off the floor and took off his bag, setting it down beside Ron's and Hermione's trunks. Though Hermione and Ron were obviously waiting impatiently for an explanation, Harry had first to explain what was happening to his house elf. Unfortunately, he wasn't very clear on what was happening himself. Thus he apologized for sending visitors unannounced and told Cedar that he didn't know when they would leave.

Now that her master was back to keep an eye on the guests, the elf relaxed considerably. She took Harry's bag to his bedroom and set up the guest bedrooms for Hermione and Ron, then got a plate of refreshments for them all and the writing supplies Harry requested.

While Cedar arranged the upstairs, Harry turned his attention back to his friends.

"What's going on, Harry? Why did we have to leave?" Hermione asked.

"When you told us we might have to leave on short notice, I didn't really think you were serious," Ron said.

"Well, first off, we left because Dumbledore was planning to use truth potions on everyone and because he was more than a bit upset over the disappearance of the Sorcerer's Stone."

"You didn't steal it, did you?" Hermione asked.

"No. But I know who did and I saw evidence that it was really destroyed this time."

"But Harry," Hermione said, "won't it make us look guilty that we just vanished before we were supposed to know about the Stone?"

"We aren't the only ones who disappeared," Harry said.

Both Ron and Hermione looked at him blankly.

"Others left too. Students and professors."

Hermione still looked on blankly but Ron nodded.

"So what do we do now?" he asked Harry.

"Wait. Sleep. We should find out more tomorrow."

"How? Who could find us here?" Hermione asked. "Do we have to go somewhere else? Should I go home?"

"No. You should stay here. Write your parents and tell them that you're alright though. Use Hedwig. She should be back by morning. She can stay with them so they can write you if they need to but make sure they know to keep her hidden if the Order shows up," Harry said.

"So we've broken with the Order now," Ron stated.

"You could still go back if you wanted," Harry said. "Either of you could. You could floo home now."

"No," Ron said. After a moment, he said thoughtfully, "I think I'd like some time alone. I have some letters to write."

"I'll have Cedar show you to your room," Harry said. He summoned Cedar and as the elf and Ron climbed the stairs, Harry turned to Hermione and waited for her to say something.

"You swear we're not alone in this?" she asked apprehensively. "It's not us against everyone else? I don't think I could fight Professor Dumbledore. Gryffindor courage only goes so far, you know."

"We aren't alone. You'll see in the morning."

"Do you think we'll be allowed back at Hogwarts again?" she fretted.

"We'll see. If we aren't, there are other options."

"But we have to take NEWTs and I don't speak French and I can't stay in your house forever and what will we do when the Order and half the wizarding world starts to look for us and-"

"Hermione, relax. Everything isn't that bad. I promise we'll be alright. I just can't tell you how I know. Do you want Calming Draught before bed?"

She looked like her mind was racing. Nodding absently, she forced herself to take a deep breath and say, "If you have some to spare, I would appreciate it."

Harry led Hermione up the stairs to his bathroom medicine cabinet and found the potion for her.

She drank her dose quickly, making a face over the sour flavor, and then passed back the cup.

"We're really going to be ok? We can still learn what we need for NEWTs?" she asked dreamily as the potion took effect.

"Yes, Hermione," Harry said, chuckling. This time he did summon Cedar to help Hermione to get ready for bed before she succumbed completely to the potion-induced drowsiness.

Once his friends were taken care of, Harry got himself ready for bed and tried to sleep. For a long time, he lay awake in bed. He desperately wanted news from the Snapes but he knew better than to expect that until morning at the earliest. Everyone would be busy. Harry himself would have been busy if it wasn't for his houseguests. Finally, Harry's exhaustion was enough to overcome his worries and he fell into an uneasy sleep.

//-//-//-//-

Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts, the assembly plan was a disaster. Dumbledore was pacing menacingly behind a table laden with truth-extraction supplies. Professor Sprout was the first to arrive with her Hufflepuffs in tow. As she watched them take their seats, the remaining empty chairs caused her to consult her prefects whom she had inadvertently ignored in her own confusion over Dumbledore's last-minute assembly call. Hearing that Harry Potter had arrived in the Common Room and taken several Hufflepuffs with him, she quickly alerted Professor Dumbledore, expecting him to in turn alert the Order and make a rescue attempt, not unlike he had done when Harry and his friends had sought Death Eaters out in the Department of Mysteries two years prior. When Dumbledore heard the news, he became even more agitated than he already was and Pomona Sprout was glad, not for the first time, that she had no cause to face this man in battle. He summoned a house elf, Dobby, and sent the creature to find Harry. Dumbledore himself turned his attention back to the assembly at hand.

But the assembly wasn't happening as planned. The Hufflepuffs, most of them, were present and the Ravenclaws were slowly trickling in. Their speed was largely due to the fact that every single one was walking while reading. Having been interrupted during study time and assured by Professor Flitwick that this was not of great concern, they had placed studying higher on their list of priorities than being prompt and attentive during the assembly. Professor Flitwick arrived looking determined somewhere in the middle of the pack and marched right up to the Head Table to take his seat, not mentioning that his house was short roughly half of its number. While Dumbledore was talking quietly with Professor Sprout and then with a house elf, Professor Flitwick was casting several strategic and covert spells. He neutralized the most dangerous of the potions, the Doleoveritas "Painful Truth" Potion, and a few others on the table. Professor Flitwick was firmly on the children's side in this conflict and he would go where they most needed someone to keep them safe.

Professors were making their way into the Great Hall as well. Filch, Binns, Pomfrey, Trelawney, Figg, Vector, Tonks, and Hagrid were present. But where were the others? Where were the Gryffindors and Slytherins? Had it been the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors that were missing, Dumbledore would have simply suspected Peeves of causing trouble somewhere in the upper levels of the castle and causing a delay but that obviously wasn't the problem. He summoned a pair of house elves to find out what was wrong.

The elves returned three minutes later saying that the students were coming. Five minutes after that, just three Slytherins arrived amidst the Gryffindors. Dumbledore was rather annoyed at all of the people postponing his important assembly. There was a thief to be caught and a Stone to recover. He summoned seven house elves to go through the school and gather the remaining students and teachers. He then called for silence so he could begin the inquisition. Unfortunately, the DA had been frantically discussing the disappearances, particularly Harry's, and Ginny Weasley was already on her way to the staff table.

"Professor Dumbledore, Harry's gone. Ron and Hermione left too. Where did they go? Are they alright? Do they-"

"Ms. Weasley, I have sent Dobby to find them and when I know where Harry has gone I will decide what to do about it. For now, I ask you to take your seat. The other students and professors will be along soon and I don't want to postpone what must be done any longer."

"But sir..." Ginny began. She changed her mind, however, when Dumbledore turned away from her and began to address the crowd. She reluctantly returned to her seat, her mind working quickly to evaluate the strange situation as Professor Dumbledore began telling them all about how something very important of his was stolen and he was going to use truth potion on each of them until he found the culprit.

Only twelve interrogations into the many and Dumbledore had had three students confess to stealing the unnamed item. Upon further questioning it was revealed that none had taken the Stone but without stating what Dumbledore was seeking, he would have to investigate each student that had ever stolen something that they perceived as belonging to him in whole or in part. Another thing the Headmaster noticed at that time was that no other students or professors had arrived. Just when he was about to get really worried, Madams Hooch and Pince arrived with two Ravenclaws, four Gryffindors, and a Hufflepuff who's detentions they had been supervising. Dumbledore quickly scanned the Head Table. He was still missing Professors Snape, Sinistra, and McGonagall. Of those, only Snape had cause for unannounced absences but his timing, while perhaps unsurprising, did nothing to settle Dumbledore concerns over the current location of the Stone. Something was clearly amiss.

Dumbledore turned back to the students. So many were missing. Others were present but either reading or asleep. Only a few were watching him as he questioned their fellows. He knew this was a foolish endeavor. It was not right to interrogate children like this. But the Stone was so valuable, so vital, that he had to accept extreme measures to get it back. He returned to the investigation only to be interrupted by a steady stream of house elves reporting back empty-handed from the searches he had sent them on. There were no more students or professors in the castle. Dumbledore was suddenly torn between finding the Stone and investigating the disappearances. It wasn't until he had finished testing each remaining student and professor with truth serums that it occurred to him that the perpetrators must have fled and he sent the remaining students to bed and called a meeting of the Order members on his staff.

Two hours and a bed check later and Dumbledore was given a full picture of just how bad the situation beyond the missing Stone was: most Slytherins, half of the Ravenclaws, several Hufflepuffs, and a handful of Gryffindors were missing as were three professors and, above all, Harry Potter. Tumult of this magnitude could only be resolved through drastic action.


	29. Waiting for News

Harry awoke to the pleasant smell of breakfast cooking. Every Saturday during the summer he had had the same pleasant experience that promised a break from the oatmeal and fruit that was his usual breakfast. He hadn't realized just how much he had come to miss this and the relaxation it prompted in him. The reminder that he was not at the Dursleys where he would have been the one making breakfast coupled with the sense of freedom that life in the villages meant for him, it was unexpectedly comforting to smell Cedar's cooking in the morning. He got out of bed and got dressed before happily descending the stairs to his basement where the dining room was located. There he found Ron already eating. Harry stepped into the kitchen to offer to help Cedar only to be chased out again by the wooden spoon-wielding creature. While Cedar could accept letting Harry help when it was just him and her in the house, she was insistent on the traditions of house elves when there were guests.

As Harry accepted defeat and took a seat at the table, Hermione wandered downstairs as well. She sat between her friends, still fairly tired, and poured herself a glass of milk and filled her plate. Without the noise of the Common Room and the Great Hall to free them from their remaining drowsiness, they said relatively little to each other while they ate. It wasn't until Hedwig arrived with Pig tailing her and chirping annoyingly that they truly woke up.

Hermione and Ron each went upstairs to retrieve the letters they had written while Harry gave the birds food and water. As soon as the letters were secured to the creatures' legs, Harry took the birds to his front porch and sent them on their way. Returning to the sitting room where Ron and Hermione had situated themselves while he sent the mail, Harry considered what to do. Now properly awake, all three teens were fidgety and agitated. They still had almost no information about the previous day's events or what it would mean for their future.

Harry flopped down onto the sofa beside Hermione and watched Ron pace. Perhaps it would be possible to sneak out and leave Ron and Hermione alone while he sought out people who would know what was going on. As he attempted to formulate a plan and Ron and Hermione wondered worriedly what their families were doing, Fawkes arrived with flash.

"Oh, good. Now we'll know what is happening," Hermione said.

Ron very much doubted that and Harry was scowling at the bird. Irritably, Harry took the letter and opened it.

_Harry,_

_Where are you? The whole of the Order is worried about you. As for myself I beg you to return to the protection of Hogwarts and the Order. The war is very important to us, as I know it is to you. Surely you can't turn your back on your parents; your Gryffindor courage simply wouldn't allow you to run away, would it?..._

Harry had read enough. He crumpled the paper up, took his wand from the pocket of his house robe, and burnt the paper to ash.

"What did it say?" Ron asked.

"Rubbish," Harry said simply. He stood and walked out of the room and left the house. Once outside, he changed into his animagus form and took flight. He was tempted to fly off to the Black household but he saw Hermione watching from the porch and doubted she would take it well if he just disappeared outside his wards as if he had been portkeyed away. Instead, he raced around his yard in broad circles as fast as he could. He dove and climbed and tucked his wings in until he fell almost to the ground before spreading them again and climbing as if he were in pursuit of prey. Feeling only slightly better, he landed with a thump on the railing of the porch and changed back into his human form before marching purposefully back inside.

"I'm going out. I don't know when I'll be back," Harry told Ron.

"Then I'm going too," both Ron and Hermione, who had followed Harry inside, said.

"No. I have to go alone."

"Why?" Ron asked.

At that moment, two owls knocked at the window and Harry went to let them in. One flew to Hermione and the other flew between Ron and Harry until Harry held out an arm to it. The letters each bird carried were identical.

_Dear Student,_

_Attached you will find a package of papers. Please find the page with your name and complete the checklist to inform us of your situation. As many of you are likely to be hiding under impenetrable wards, this is our most reliable method for insuring your safety at the moment. You had best answer promptly and accurately or the spell on your checklist will administer potentially painful bites. When you have completed every question to your satisfaction, tap the page with your wand and say _Remando._ If you request assistance in your answers, you can expect to be contacted within the coming days. If your situation is urgent, please note this in large letters at the top of your response sheet and someone will come to your aide as soon as possible. If you do not have a writing utensil of some sort or are without your wand, fold your response sheet in quarters, soak a corner of the paper in your saliva (for magical tracking spells), and send it back with the delivery owl. Help will be sent upon receipt._

_Sincerely,_

_Your perhaps former Professors_

Harry opened the large bag the owl was carrying and began sorting through the sheets of parchment in search of the one with his name. The bird had lousy timing but he might as well get the paperwork out of the way, lest the owl follow him around town with its biting parchments. Maybe if he was quick enough, he could take advantage of his friends' distraction as they filled out their copies of the questionnaire and leave without argument.

"_1. Do you presently have serious concerns for your own safety?"_ the first question read.

"No," Harry wrote in response.

_2. If you are not currently at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, are you in the care of your parent(s) or guardian(s)? (If you are still at Hogwarts, please leave this question blank)._

No.

_3. If you left the previous question blank or responded in the negative, do you require assistance in contacting your parent(s) or guardian(s) and/or making arrangements to return to their care?_

NO!

_4. If necessary, would your current living situation be acceptable for as much as a month?_

Yes.

_5. If you have any concerns regarding your own safety, please describe them below._

_If you are presently at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and do not wish to leave, please skip to question 9._

_6. Are you content with your decision to depart or would you prefer to return at once to Hogwarts and the care of Headmaster Dumbledore?_

I'm quite pleased with my choice to leave.

The questions continued, all the way down to:

_15. What is your present location? (If you do not wish to disclose this, please provide an answer to at least two of the following questions. If you do provide an answer, the supplemental questions may be left blank.)_

_a. Who can we send to verify that your situation is satisfactory? Note: If you are warded, this must be someone who already has access to your residence._

You can send Aly or her master. If you don't know who that is, I don't want your help.

_b. Who can we trust to pass along any future messages for you?_

_c. Can you meet a professor in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic at a to-be-appointed time? _

No.

Ron and Hermione were unsure of how to answer the final questions and had to copy Harry's answers but as soon as they were finished, they cast the spell to send the letter back to their professors and the owls soared out the window and on to find the other people on their lists.

Harry very nearly made it out of the room on his way out the front door before he was stopped, not by his friends, but by the sudden appearance of a second phoenix. The unfamiliar bird caused Ron and Hermione to become wary.

"Whose phoenix is that?" they wanted to know.

Harry told them that it was not his place to answer that question and turned his attention to the letter Aly had brought.

'Information at last,' he thought as he read.

Aly watched Harry's unfamiliar visitors curiously until Harry summoned Cedar to fetch some of the leftover fruit from breakfast for the bird.

_Harry,_

_I know you are probably frantic for information but I must ask patience of you. The three professors that fled with you have been working through the night to develop a feasible plan. So far they have devised a complicated system to ensure that all the students are safe wherever they may be. While they have been busy, myself and a few colleagues have arranged to have the village school expanded so that classes can be held there until you can all return to Hogwarts but there is still much to be done. As I write this, I am waiting to speak with Ministry officials to discuss funding to pay professors and buy classroom supplies. If all goes well, school may resume some time this week. I'll write again as soon as more is known._

"What does it say, Harry?" Ron asked anxiously.

"The professors that left Hogwarts last night are trying to make sure all the students are safe. In the meantime, other people are trying to find a way to keep teaching those of us that left."

"What do you mean? How many people left last night?" Ron asked

"Why would professors leave? Surely they are all loyal to Dumbledore," Hermione said.

"A lot of people left. Professors Snape and McGonagall fled. I don't know who else. I would guess that about a quarter of the student body left as well," Harry replied.

"Oh," was all Ron could say. Hermione stood openmouthed.

"I had no idea," Hermione finally said.

"I knew we weren't the only ones but... wow. McGonagall left?" Ron asked.

"Yeah," Harry said.

Yet another mail delivery happened at that moment as Hedwig and Pig returned with hastily written letters from the Grangers and the Weasleys. Ron and Hermione took their letters with looks of apprehension and went to find some privacy to read them in. Cedar took the owls which left Harry with the chance he had wanted to leave the house but upon seeing his friends having to deal with the consequences of following him away from everything they had known, he wasn't as eager to leave them. He knew he had made the right decision in choosing to stay just minutes later when Ron reappeared looking pale and conflicted. Soon, Hermione reentered the sitting room as well, her eyes red and puffy.

"Harry, they think you're a Death Eater," she said.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Professor Dumbledore told my parents that you were a Death Eater and you had me fooled into following you."

"Ron?" Harry asked, looking for confirmation.

Ron only nodded.

"I..." Harry began but he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Harry went to open his front door and found Percy waiting there.

"Ron is here, isn't he?" Percy asked hopefully.

"Yes. Would you like to come in?" Harry invited.

Percy nodded and followed Harry into the sitting room.

"Ron," Percy said.

Ron spun around in his seat. "How did you get here?" he asked.

"I live nearby. Ron, are you ok?"

Ron frowned but then nodded.

"You could still go home if you wanted to," he said.

"I don't. I've made my choice," Ron said. "Harry got me thinking but I've spoken with others as well. I know what I'm doing."

"OK. I guess I just wanted you to know that you aren't alone, whichever side you choose," Percy said.

Harry decided it would be best to leave the two brothers to their conversation so he went to sit on his porch. Hermione remained, eagerly listening to Percy and taking comfort from the same assurances that Ron needed.

Sometime around noon, Percy left and Harry returned inside and made his way to the dining room accompanied by Ron and Hermione, both of whom were in somewhat better spirits.

By mid-afternoon, Harry and his friends were again growing fidgety about the lack of new information. Hermione had taken refuge in the study and library while Ron was outside and running laps around Harry's yard and working his way through his exercise routine. Harry's thoughts had once again turned to leaving his friends and seeking out the Blacks or the Snapes. Luckily, he was stopped by another timely letter from Aurelia stating that good progress had been made and Severus would be by late that evening to tell him about it.

//-//-//-//-

That evening, more than an hour after Hermione had gone to bed and more than two hours after Ron had gone to bed, there was a quiet knock at the door and Harry rose to let a very obviously tired Professor Snape in. Having been awake for more than two days, Professor Snape tried to keep the meeting brief while still answering all of Harry's questions.

Harry learned from Severus that outside the seeming calm of the villages, the wizarding world was in uproar over the fate of their children.

"Dumbledore went ahead with his plan to interrogate the remaining students. He, of course, learned nothing. The Order is attempting to convince people that it was the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters that lured the missing students from the 'safety' of Hogwarts."

"Is it working?"

"Some people are convinced. More think that Dumbledore is to blame. A few prominent parents have already lodged complaints with the Board of Governors over the treatment of students yesterday and today."

"What happened?"

"While the worst of the truth potions were not used, others were administered without parental consent. When Dumbledore realized that many students and a few teachers were missing, he instituted a lockdown of the remaining students and the Order began contacting relations of those who were missing. They were perhaps a bit too hasty in their efforts to locate students in general and you in particular. Parents willing to listen were subjected to absurd allegations regarding their loyalties and those of their children. Some of those who did not listen, including your muggle relations, were forced to listen and provide information via a variety of spells including everything from Leg Locks and Bat-Bogey Hexes to the Imperius Curse."

"Why would they do that? They used an Unforgivable, Dark curse on parents of missing children?" Harry asked with disbelief.

"No. Your relatives were the only ones who were actually missing their ward that were treated to curses. The other victims were keeping their children away from Dumbledore and his people but all were able to keep their secrets despite the interrogations."

"And is the Ministry just going to let them get away with that?" Harry asked.

"There is not a great deal that the Ministry can do. It has never been able to stand up to Dumbledore or this whole affair might have been ended decades ago."

"What about the School Governors or the International Confederation of Wizards or...?"

"Harry, we are doing what we can. Lucius Malfoy is in the process of meeting with each member of the Board of Governors to gather opposition to Dumbledore but that is really our only recourse with the current propaganda. My Lord may be able to work more freely once our people have had time to make counter-arguments available to the public but if we were to take action now, it would only lend credence to the allegations that we kidnapped and coerced children into leaving against the better judgment of their families."

"Are people just listening to that sort of rubbish? They must have figured out that almost all of the students are related to Death Eaters or supporters."

"Many of the children that left this morning are from neutral families and only half of those departures were initiated by the child's parents. In some cases, arrangements were made at the student's request and they have been allowed to stay with friends or distant relations."

"Still, why is Dumbledore doing this? Doesn't he know how little support he has?"

"He has enough support that the next week will be critical. The Order is fighting a strong political battle. They hope that by fanning the flames of fear and uncertainty for the children, they can gain some advantage."

"What are we doing to fight back?" Harry demanded.

Professor Snape reached into his robe pocket and removed a tattered copy of the _Daily Prophet_. To Harry's surprise, it was the coming morning's issue. From its appearance, the paper had already been through many hands.

Snape took his wand and used a copying charm on the paper so that Harry could have a copy to keep and read.

"I really must return home and get some sleep," the professor said. "I believe the paper will answer many questions. I would suggest that you fill out and return the subscription form. As I've said, the next week will be important."

Harry saw his professor out before taking a look at the paper. The headline read "Hogwarts in Chaos" and the front page was filled with the article. Harry was surprised to see that his was the only name listed among those who had left. He had half expected to see everyone's. Professor McGonagall, writing under her pseudonym, tried to counter the Order's allegations by telling what had happened as best she could. It seemed that she still had sources on the inside (though it wasn't mentioned, these sources were the House ghosts who had also helped to get students out of Hogwarts that morning).

She told of how students had been treated late at night after those with advance notice had fled, of what potions Dumbledore had set out for use, of how he had locked the remaining students in their Common Rooms and neglected to feed them their meals because of his political efforts. She told of how the professors that had fled were the ones to put forth the effort to make sure that every student of every political background was safe and pleased with their decision to remain at Hogwarts or to leave. She told of students who had been able to get out because of this, and of those who had been able to contact their families with the assistance of the missing professors.

Harry found himself feeling proud of the side he had chosen and he knew that his Head of House's brilliantly crafted work would have the same effect on others. It was late and he finished reading the paper quickly and filled out the subscription form to be sent with Hedwig the next morning and then went to sleep, leaving the paper on the breakfast table where Ron and Hermione would be able to read it in the morning.

//-//-//-//-

The next morning, Harry awoke to find Ron and Hermione discussing the news over breakfast. He filled them in on what he had learned in between bites of eggs and bacon. Near the end of breakfast, three owls arrived, proving that their professors had been even busier than Harry had known.

The letters were identical except for their greetings and the fact that Ron's and Hermione's had each come with one tiny stone strung on a bit of twine. The letters announced that school would resume the following day and those with the stones were to use them to travel to and from school while all others were to travel normally as they had for August school. Harry had to pause at that point in his reading to assure Ron and Hermione that he would be fine without a portkey. He reiterated that the tables had been turned and, for once, he was safer walking outside than they were. The letters instructed students on what to bring each day and on how to keep safe at home. Rules were established regarding the use and secrecy of each portkey, students were forbidden from disobeying the head of the family in whose home they were staying in all matters pertaining to straying from their sanctuaries, and everyone was encouraged to write their families. Harry was mildly amused as Ron tried to comprehend the concept of attending a school that was neither a boarding school nor lessons at home. Having never been to muggle primary school, he was unfamiliar with the letter's description of commuting between home and school each morning and afternoon but Hermione and Harry answered his questions and he decided he liked the idea.

The letters closed with a note from Professor McGonagall that this arrangement was not to be seen as the abandonment of Hogwarts. It was to be thought of instead as a sort of Hogwarts-in-exile. She wrote that they could not let the great history and tradition of Hogwarts suffer from the recent exploits of Albus Dumbledore and in the future, all students and teachers would be able to return when it was once again safe to do so.

Harry and his friends thus spent the rest of the day preparing for school and continuing their correspondence with those outside their home.


	30. Politicking

Cedar woke Harry, Ron, and Hermione­­ early so that they would be able to eat breakfast and prepare themselves before leaving for school. Then Harry began the peaceful walk into the village and Ron and Hermione waited nervously for their portkeys to activate.

When Harry arrived at the school, he could see immediately that it had been expanded to accommodate the increase in the number of students and teachers. Harry was met at the door, along with many other students who were arriving under their own power or by family portkeys from when they regularly attended this school and commuted from their family homes outside the villages. There, Professors McGonagall and Vablatsky passed out individual schedules and maps of the school building.

Harry followed the crowd to the Great Hall where students normally ate their meals. There, all the former students and professors of Hogwarts were assembled and waiting. Harry quickly found Ron and Hermione and joined them on a bench not far from where the professors, some familiar and some not, were seated.

"I can't believe so many students left," Hermione said.

Harry replied in a hushed voice, "Some students left for less obvious reasons than Malfoy or Travers or I did. Some are neutral. Some only left because their 'uncle's sister-in-law married a Death Eater' so when the Death Eaters were providing the portkeys that would allow their children to escape if anything happened at Hogwarts, they took one for each family member in school and told the kids to use them to leave if Professor Snape ever gave the command."

"How did they know Professor Snape would tell their children to leave?" Hermione asked equally quietly, respecting Harry's wish to keep their conversation private.

"It was arranged in advance. He was just supposed to use good judgment and decide when students and their access to their families were going to be in jeopardy. When Dumbledore notified the Heads of House that there would be an unplanned assembly, Professor Snape didn't like the way Dumbledore was behaving or the fact that he planned to use truth potions on students which could have endangered the children and their families so he made sure we all got out."

"Oh," she said as the professors stood to begin the assembly.

Professor McGonagall arrived from the front door and Professor Snape arrived from the designated new student portkey destination room. After everyone was present and quiet was called, the new teachers were introduced. Harry was surprised at the speed with which they had found people to teach all of the subjects but Potions, Transfiguration, and Astronomy (whose teachers had fled from Hogwarts). All subjects were covered and only Divination, Arithmancy, and Ancient Runes shared professors with the village school. Without too much delay, students were shuffled off to their first class and learning resumed with as much normalcy as was possible under the difficult circumstances.

When school ended for the day, Harry walked home to find Ron and Hermione waiting for him in the sitting room.

"Mate, you've got to take a look in the dining room," Ron told him.

"Why? What's wrong?" Harry asked. Ron just pointed a finger towards the stairs and gave Harry a hassled look.

Hermione waved a hand nonchalantly, clearly thinking Ron was overreacting. "You have a lot of mail, Harry."

Harry went downstairs and stopped abruptly when the tabletop came into view. There Cedar was sorting his mail into piles... very large piles.

"Master is having much mail, much mail," she told him. "Mail from Dumblydore."

"Which are from Dumbledore?" he asked the elf. He Evanesco-ed the entire pile of thirty or so letters she pointed to without a second thought.

"Master is having more mail," she said, pointing to the other piles. "Cedar takes bad mail. Cedar is keeping Master Harry safe," she added bouncing and bobbing her head happily at having so much important work to do.

"Bad mail?" Harry asked her warily.

"Oh yes. Master Harry was having pain mail and curse mail and mail to take Master away. Cedar is taking bad mail away."

"Thank you Cedar. Can I look through the others?" Harry asked.

"Oh yes, Master Harry. Master Harry is having these letters," she told him happily, pointing to the smaller pile while she continued to riffle through the large pile, magically vanishing a few letters and sending the others to the smaller pile as she okayed them.

Harry began opening every letter but soon realized that most of them were rubbish from people he had never heard of who felt their opinions mattered because they had read about his disappearance in the Daily Prophet and so he began looking only for those from people he knew. There was a letter from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley asking him to come stay with them where they could keep him safe from Death Eaters. Harry set that letter aside to reply to and moved on to a similar letter from Remus, and others from various Order members and classmates still at Hogwarts.

Though he was tempted to write replies the important letters immediately, he knew he should wait and think about what he wanted to say first. Maybe he should talk to someone about that, he thought. In the meantime, he set them aside and finished sorting the letters with Cedar. Finally, he returned to the sitting room where Ron and Hermione were waiting.

"Everything ok, mate?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. A lot of it was the usual response to a scandal involving me. Some of it was from Order members though, and your family."

"Yeah? What are you going to do?"

"I going to think about them and then tomorrow, I might ask Professor Snape's advice after class."

"Are you going to go back?" Hermione asked.

"No. I'll write because the Weasleys and Remus mean a lot to me and I don't want to lose any of them, especially over politics, but it's not entirely up to me. I know they're probably just as strong in their convictions as I am in mine so nothing may come of it but at least I'll have tried."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully and Ron smiled.

"Alright Ron, move some of your stuff. You can't take the whole sofa," Harry grinned, grabbing his school bag and falling into the seat as soon as Ron moved a few texts and some parchment. Though they were all distracted by familial matters and the politics of the war, they did their best to focus as they worked on homework, ate supper, and went to bed. The following day, Harry did indeed speak with Professor Snape and wrote some replies. He could only hope for the best.

//-//-//-//-

Classes at the school which had taken the unofficial name of Hogwarts in Exile were not terribly different from lessons at Hogwarts but the change for Harry was the end of having to watch his back all the time. Without Tonks around collecting information on his whereabouts, Harry had a lot less stress. When he mentioned it to Ron and Hermione, he found out more about what Tonks had done.

"Ginny was always asking about you," Hermione told him. "Lately she'd been really bothering me about our summer. She was trying to make me feel bad about breaking the rules to see you."

"Same here," Ron said. "She wanted to know if we had seen you and what you had been doing."

"She was probably reporting to Tonks," Harry told them.

"I thought so," Hermione said. "I caught them talking once, but I don't think they saw me. Tonks should have known better than to discuss business like that in the library. I honestly don't know how she managed to become an auror."

"Neither do I," Harry said. "I caught her following me three times in two weeks and her tracking spells weren't very good."

"I'm glad we left. Hogwarts wasn't a very nice place anymore," Ron said.

"Yeah. The war is so stupid," Harry said, as he often did. "Let's talk about something else. How do you like this school?"

"It's nice," Hermione said. "I didn't think it would be, but the professors are much better. I miss the Hogwarts library though."

"I like that this house is quiet. I don't think I've ever been somewhere this quiet," Ron said. "I actually get work done here. Still, I think I liked boarding school better. It was nice to be able to go back to the Tower in between classes and during free periods."

"You need the study time you get during free periods, Ron," Hermione pointed out. "I wish I could go outside more though."

Harry shrugged. Hermione had not yet met Electra and been let in on the Secret of the village so there was nothing for her to do outside school and Harry's house. Percy had arranged for Ron to find out but had told Harry that Electra had not been willing to tell Hermione until Hermione somehow proved her loyalties. Harry hadn't been happy about that and had asked Electra himself. That was the first time he had truly seen her as a blood-purist and it had bothered him. Until Electra changed her mind, there was nothing Harry could do to help Hermione in this matter. To distract her, he posed a question about his homework.

//-//-//-//-//-

Later, when Harry was alone in his room getting ready for bed, he took out the letters he had received that morning at breakfast from Ginny, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and Remus.

_Harry,_

_What has happened? Are you alright? Please come to the Burrow. We are very sorry that we didn't take more time to answer your questions about the war. We can do a better job explaining. Please, Harry. We know you would never go against the Light but it doesn't look good that you disappeared at the same time as so many Death Eaters._

The letters were much the same. He set to work writing responses. He knew he could not go back and he was clear on that. He didn't really know what else to say. He wrote to Remus and the Weasleys about how important they had been in his life and of how much he hated when politics got in the way of that but he closed each letter by saying that he just didn't feel safe around Dumbledore and his supporters anymore. He had to leave and he would not come to see them at least until he felt safe again.

Over the course of the week, they traded letters back and forth. Remus became more upset with each letter, alternately blaming himself and telling Harry to have faith in the Light and come back to them. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley wrote letters that were increasingly accepting. They assured him that he would always have a place in their family and they were saddened that he didn't feel safe with them, they knew that differences in political opinions could do that in the midst of a war. They clearly wanted Harry back but they were understanding, having had time and practice with these sorts of disagreements with Percy. Ginny on the other hand, began sending her own letters because she disagreed more and more with her parents. The first letter was chastising. The second begged Harry to come back to her and 'repent'. Harry wrote that he had to do what he thought was right and if she couldn't respect that then he would stop responding to her letters. In that sense, Harry was taking Electra's advice to be assertive and speak his mind but he had also took to heart Aurelia's reminders to be careful not to alienate his loved ones and so he was working to keep close to the people he cared about, even across the divide of the war.

But Ginny simply would not or could not accept his perspective.

_Dear Harry,_

_Don't you see? They've brainwashed you. Please come back. Mum and Dad can help you._

_Love,_

_Ginny_

Harry assured her that he knew what he had done in choosing his side, unlike when he had taken up with the Order and its members. He reminded her that they had both disliked the way the Order kept information from them and he had finally sought information through other sources. He had checked his facts this time, and decided on his own that this was the right thing to do. He doubted she would accept that.

Ginny's next letter arrived, a typical piece of parchment with his name written in her usual purple ink. It was probably a good sign that it wasn't a Howler. He took a deep breath and unfolded it.

_Harry Potter,_

_I hate you! How could you do this to us? You selfish, arrogant ­_–

Harry had had enough. He burned the letter with a sad sigh. He had already known Ginny wasn't someone he could turn but he had still held out hope that maybe they could agree to disagree as he had with her parents. He supposed he should have known that someone as driven as Ginny was not likely to accept that. Harry shook his head to clear his thoughts. There was nothing to be done about it.

//-//-//-//-//-

The front page of the _Daily Prophet_ had been covering the Hogwarts v. Hogwarts in Exile issue continuously since the Death Eaters and supporters had fled Hogwarts. The two sides had been trading propaganda in subsequent pages as well. However, nothing decisive had been reported lately. The sides were so evenly matched that it had taken well over a week for anyone to gather enough support to affect real change. When it finally happened, though, it seemed only to add to the uncertainty.

Good news from outside the villages came to Professor McGonagall during Transfiguration that day. The Board of Governors of Hogwarts had voted and Albus Dumbledore no longer had their support. In fact, they had scheduled a meeting for Friday to vote on a new Head.

The following morning's newspaper had a great deal of information on the matter and developments since. With public opinion rapidly abandoning Dumbledore over his treatment of children and their families, nearly all students had left Hogwarts, only Order members remained on staff, and those who had left were turning up at the village school within days of their departure from Hogwarts. The paper even reported that Molly and Arthur Weasley, once known for their support of Dumbledore, were now only nominally behind him after they had been detained for harsh questioning by fellow Order members when they should have been allowed to go in search of their missing son and comfort their daughter who had become distraught by the chaos reigning at Hogwarts and in the wizarding world at large.

One morning, Professor Flitwick arrived having ensured that every student remaining at Hogwarts was safe in the care of their professors. He stopped Ron at the end of school and invited him to resume dueling lessons immediately. Ron accepted and soon his evenings were again full with lessons and homework and NEWT practice exercises.

Ron's occasional absence only served to fuel Hermione's nervousness. She, and several other students at school who knew nothing about the villages, were hearing disconcerting things at school about people and places they could not see. Harry was getting worried about Hermione and asked Percy if she could visit him every now and then. He agreed and told Hermione where she could find his house. She took to walking across Harry's garden every afternoon to Percy's where he helped her study for NEWTs and sometimes meet guests he was hosting for supper. It still wasn't enough, though. Evenings often found Hermione pacing frantically like a caged animal, looking nervously out the window. None of Harry and Ron's assurances that the house was safe helped. She was taking daily doses of Calming Draught just to get to sleep at night. Aurelia had stopped by to increase her dosage once already and they had only been in the villages for three weeks. This simply could not continue. And Hermione wasn't the only student at school that had developed a habit of staring nervously out windows. Something would have to be done.


	31. Hermione

The next morning, the paper carried a bizarrely worded speech from Dumbledore saying in many more words that it was unwise for the Governors to withdraw their support as the best place for him was obviously Hogwarts. The old coot was refusing to leave but as he had at least marginal support from the parents or guardians of every student that remained, all of them Order members, there was little the Ministry could do but wait. Without anyone to rescue, they could not justify the dangers of attempting to remove the Headmaster by force nor could they spare the political costs of again attempting to involve themselves militarily in affairs at Hogwarts so soon after the fiasco with Umbridge.

Talk flew among students and professors alike at Hogwarts in Exile. Everyone had an opinion about Dumbledore and few were good. The general consensus was that his eccentricity had final reached such a level as to be termed senility.

//-//-//-//-

Saturday's paper was delayed by four hours, arriving around noon instead of during breakfast. The Board of Governors had voted Professor McGonagall as the new Head of Hogwarts but certain key figures in the Ministry, most notably Amelia Bones, managed to gather the support necessary to push the Ministry into stating that, due to the political turmoil occurring in the magical community, it would not be appropriate to give McGonagall the post. She was a known Order member, they claimed. Ironically, they argued that Professor Sprout should be given the position instead. Though McGonagall was not an Order member and Sprout was a low profile one, the decision was made to accept this argument and call for Sprout to be given the Headmistress position instead. However, the paper stated, it was all just theoretical really since Dumbledore was still holed up in the school refusing to accept that the post was no longer his.

Sunday's paper was frustratingly lacking in new information. Both Sprout and McGonagall were waiting to see how the situation played out before commenting. Unfortunately for the _Daily Prophet_ and its readers, the situation would take some time.

//-//-//-//-

Hermione, whose only distractions besides life with Harry and Ron and school were corresponding twice weekly with her parents and visiting Percy, was showing strain. To make matters worse, Christmas holidays were approaching and that would bring an end to trips to school. At Harry and Ron's urging, Charlie came and offered to take her to the dragon preserves every weekend so she wouldn't feel so trapped. She accepted the trips outside with relief and tried not to think too much about her fears over not being able to see what everyone else seemed to know surrounded the school and Harry's house.

In the back of his head, Harry knew that Hermione couldn't be the only one with these problems. He hoped the conflict that kept them here would end soon and they could all return to Hogwarts. Unfortunately, everyone was waiting on Dumbledore and all indications from Hogwarts showed Dumbledore planned to stay put for as long as possible.

//-//-//-//-

One Saturday evening, the first week in December, Hermione did not return from the dragon preserve. It was only her second weekend and her third visit, so at first Harry and Ron figured she and Charlie had simply stayed late. Ron said that happened often enough with Charlie, where he'd just get so involved in something with his dragons that he'd lose track of time. As the night wore on, Harry began pacing the sitting room nervously. Ron tried to comfort him, saying Charlie sometimes stayed overnight when a dragon was sick or a pair was mating or eggs were hatching. At one in the morning, Percy came knocking on their door.

"Is Hermione back yet?" he asked worriedly.

"No," Harry replied, equally concerned.

Even Ron looked upset by Percy's worrying.

"She and Charlie promised to be back by 8. Charlie promised. I saw him set the alarm on his watch myself. I think something may have happened," Percy said.

Harry was already out the door before Percy finished his last sentence.

"Come on," he called back to the two Weasleys. "We're going to see Aurelia."

They crossed the town in record time, getting to the portkey poles in mere minutes. Despite the usual quiet of Eyrie's Edge, Harry was surer than ever that something was wrong. The three took the portkey to Brocksett and Harry set a fast pace as they all but ran to the Snape house.

It was dark and quiet inside, but for a single lamp in the front room. Someone was still awake. Harry knocked softly. Professor Snape answered the door immediately and took in the state of his visitors with concern.

"Harry, what's the matter?" he asked in a tone that, for Snape, qualified as friendly or even paternal.

"Hermione went to the dragon preserves with Charlie Weasley today and she never came back," Harry said hurriedly.

"Charlie is missing too," Percy added.

Snape gestured them inside and, as he climbed the stairs, quietly called down to them, "Have a seat in the sitting room and wait for me. Try not to wake the children."

Snape returned a few minutes later. "Percy, come. We must report this to our Lord immediately. Harry, Aurelia will be down in a moment. You are to stay in the villages where we can be sure you are safe and let us find your friends. Understood?"

Harry nodded his agreement. He trusted the Snapes to take care of him in ways he had never trusted the Order.

Snape and Percy disapparated with the aid of their Dark Marks for their audience with the Dark Lord and Ron and Harry sat fidgeting in the Snape family sitting room, waiting.

Aurelia came downstairs shortly. She sat with the boys in the sitting room and tried to distract them. She knew from experience that waiting for news of a loved one was always hard.

An hour later, Snape and Percy returned.

"They are gone. They haven't been seen since before noon," Snape reported.

"We can't be sure, but it's likely they've been kidnapped," Percy said. "The Order is suspected. They might return her to her family or Hogwarts or choose to keep her hidden."

"Personally, I suspect if the Order was involved, she will be sequestered and they will try to use her to locate you," Snape told Harry.

"What can we do?" Ron asked. It surprised Harry that the question wasn't emotional like Ron used to be when faced with difficulties. Now he was determined and, Harry suddenly realized, he looked capable.

Snape must have noticed as well. "You _have_ grown up, Mr. Weasley," he said with approval. "Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do. The Order will have her in a location we cannot gain access to. We can only wait and gather information. Charlie is capable. He may be able to help himself and Ms. Granger escape, but until then, there is nothing to do but wait."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/

For a week, Harry and Ron threw themselves into studying defense. Harry practiced dueling with Ron in his front garden. Ron approached dueling lessons with a new fervor. Their school work would have been neglected in favor of learning to fight but at least one Snape or Black visited every evening and made sure they did their work. The adults knew that the lack of news was grating on the boys' nerves. Sometimes Harry thought they were just making sure he hadn't rushed off to attempt an ill-fated rescue like the Department of Mysteries fiasco. Other times though, he was glad that they were around to remind him that leaving the wards without any idea where to look for his friends would likely only lead to him being captured as well.

Aurelia always wrote him immediately with new information. The Dark Lord had someone inside the Order that was feeding them information but he wasn't yet privy to much news about the prisoners. In the meantime, Harry wrote to Mrs. Weasley.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Mrs. Weasley did not write back. The letters that certain other Order members were in the habit of sending Harry at least once a week held no hint that they had Hermione, until one day, after two weeks without notice, the owl that carried Mrs. Weasley's usual letter arrived. There was only one scrawled line and no signature, though Ron recognized Bill's handwriting.

_I can't condone this. Be ready for them tonight. C. has his portkey back. Have healers waiting._

Harry bolted out the door, letter still in his hand, Ron following closely, confused but hopeful.

**Knock, knock, knock!!** "Percy! Percy, open the door. Percy, you'd better be home right now!" Harry shouted.

Percy appeared at the door quickly. "What's all this?" he asked.

Harry handed him the letter and, as Percy read, he relaxed.

"It's Bill's. Charlie carries a portkey back here for emergencies. The Order must have taken it away and now Bill's smuggled it back to him. It takes a password to activate it. He and Hermione should come tonight."

"I'll get Aurelia," Harry said, not waiting before he changed into his animagus form and shot off towards the town square.

Twenty minutes later, Aurelia, Professor Snape, and Harry were flooing to Percy's house, having left the Snape children in the care of Mrs. Langley. Snape and Percy left almost immediately to take the note to the Dark Lord.

Meanwhile, the others waited.

After what seemed like an eternity but was really around an hour and a half, Percy and Snape returned through the floo.

"That took longer than I expected. Did something go wrong?" Aurelia asked quietly.

"There were certain factions that wanted to rescind the portkey's access to the wards," Professor Snape replied more loudly. He held up a hand to stay the interruptions and added, "They will not, but the house will be surrounded as a precaution. The portkey can only carry four people so the Dark Lord believes it an acceptable risk, though others feel four well chosen people could easily do damage before even such a large force as will be here tonight could stop them."

"But Voldemort is getting his way right? The others aren't going to stop him?" Harry asked.

"'The Dark Lord' is not some novelty title, Harry. Of course he will have his way," Percy said sharply.

"Aurelia, we must return. The meeting isn't over. You're presence is required," Snape said.

Aurelia looked confused but left through the floo together with her husband. Percy ordered the house elf his uncle had leant him to take care of Harry and Ron before he disapparated using his Dark Mark.

Harry and Ron attempted to distract themselves with Percy's Wizarding Wireless. They waited nervously for quite some time.

Finally, the adults flooed back and tiredly took seats around the sitting room.

"The Dark Lord has made the necessary arrangements. Hermione and Charlie will be taken care of if they do indeed return tonight."

Harry had had a chance to think while they were gone and asked worriedly.

"But it _is_ a risk, just like you said earlier. Why would the Dark Lord want to help us get Hermione and Charlie back?" Harry asked with distrust.

Severus looked at the floor and Percy turned away. It was Aurelia who finally answered.

"We've had some other news from inside."

Severus glared at her. "As few people as possible, _remember._"

"I don't know who the spy is so I cannot possibly disclose that information," she reminded her husband, "and Harry has a right to be distrustful."

"What information? Are they alright?" Harry asked worriedly.

"They probably are but the Order has plans to try some different kinds of mind control and re-indoctrination in hopes of use Hermione and Charlie to get at us here," Aurelia said.

"We will do everything we can to make sure they are themselves," Percy said.

"They'll be fine," Snape said, though the implied 'probably' was still clear.

"So they'll be home tonight?" Ron sought to assure himself.

"_If_ the letter was truthful," Snape affirmed.

"And Mrs. Snape and Mrs. Black are going to take care of them?" he asked.

"Actually, with this new information, we've decided to entrust their care to a mind healer instead. We'll be involved, but he'll be in charge of their cases."

Ron swallowed hard. Percy looked down at his hands.

"Will Bill be ok after this?" Ron asked.

"If he has any sense, he and Fleur will be well away from Dumbledore before his treachery is discovered," Percy said.

"Do you think he'll come here?" Harry asked.

Percy shook his head. "He'll probably leave the country. Gringotts has some of the best security in the world and he can get a transfer to one of their overseas ventures processed in a few hours. The goblins have wanted him back in Egypt for six months now."

"But he might, especially if they're in really bad shape. He might leave right away though. I guess it depends on what Dumbledore's been doing. It would take a lot to turn Bill. We'll just have to see tonight. If he comes, maybe we can talk to him before he leaves," Ron said.

"Neither of you will be here," Snape interjected.

"What?! Of course we will," Ron snapped.

Harry agreed with him.

"You will not. Part of the damage four people could cause is to kidnap everyone in the room and portkey out immediately," Snape explained.

"We'll be here anyways. We're Hermione's friends and Charlie and Bill are my brothers," Ron argued.

"Ronald, neither of you will be in this house, even if I have to revoke your knowledge of its Secret to make sure of that," Percy said with finality.

Ron looked furious but he did not speak immediately. His dueling training was paying off noticeably. He knew angering his opponent now, when the advantage was so clear, was not a good strategy.

"We'll be right outside then," he said instead.

Snape pursed his lips for a moment, causing Ron to prepare to argue more, but then he said, "That will be acceptable."

And so, four hours later, Harry and Ron stood between Professor McGonagall and Rabastan Lestrange, wands drawn, as part of a large circle surrounding Percy's home. Percy, Electra, Aurelia, Professor Snape, Lucius Malfoy, the Dark Lord, and several other Death Eaters had gone inside. Everyone was silent, waiting.

And they kept waiting.

Harry and Ron grew increasingly worried that the escape had gone wrong.


	32. At the Hospital

The Dark Mark suddenly shot through the roof of the house and the witches and wizards encircling the house breathed a sigh of relief. It was the all-clear sign. As the Mark went up, Professor Snape stepped outside and spoke quickly with the leaders of the defensive circle. The Death Eaters assembled were dismissed. Snape then led Harry and Ron inside.

Charlie settled the unconscious Hermione on the stretcher and then fell to the floor himself. The healers present hurried to portkey them both to the hospital.

"Charlie, Hermione!" Harry and Ron exclaimed, rushing to their sides.

"They need medical attention," Percy warned.

"We'll be alright," Charlie whispered determinedly.

"Tomorrow you see them," one of the healers said urgently, "but right now, they need medical attention."

Then, the healers and patients portkeyed away.

Ron looked worse than before the rescue.

"What happened to them?"

"They were interrogated and 're-educated.' Ms. Granger resisted despite physical restraint and was drugged," Professor Snape said. "Aurelia believes they will make a full recovery but it will take some time."

"We'll go visit them tomorrow," Percy told Ron and Harry.

"So I'm just supposed to sleep now when my brother and my friend are in the hospital?" Ron asked incredulously. "Why can't we go now?"

"Because the healers need time to work and Charlie and Hermione need time to sleep-"

Percy was cut off as both his and Professor Snape's Dark Marks heated.

Snape reached into his pocket and passed two vials of Sleeping Draught to Harry before quickly leaving. He had intended to put the boys in their beds and watch them take the draughts but a Calling so soon after speaking with the Dark Lord already could only mean something important.

Harry and Ron were left to glare at the fire in the grate.

"They really expect us to just sleep," Ron said.

"Not going to happen," Harry said. He and Ron began their walk to the village portkeys. Even if all they could do was sit in the reception room all night, they would do that.

/-/-/-/-/-

Harry and Ron did sit in reception all night. The healers updated them several times and Electra tried her best to convince them to go home and sleep. Hermione would be kept sedated for at least 24 hours to allow the potions to heal her broken bones. After that, her mental and emotional state would need to be evaluated. Charlie was in better physical shape but because he had had a very bad reaction to the combinations of anti-impressionability potions the Order had tried to "treat" him with, he was suffering from episodes when he was easily confused the other half of the time. He had been given mild tranquilizers to control the panic attacks he seemed to have whenever he got particularly confused. The tranquilizers had allowed him to fall asleep peacefully for the first time in almost a week. Ron and Harry waited all night anyways.

Aurelia came early the next morning with news from the outside. The spy within the Order had reported back on the consequences of the prisoner escape. The Order was in a state of chaos, arguing over the morality of their treatment of the prisoners and what to do about their escape. Dumbledore was furious but his mood had improved slightly when the responsible party was apprehended. Bill had gotten Fleur out of the country in time but that he had been caught just outside Gringotts on his way to get his new assignment and portkey to the company housing overseas. Dumbledore had punished him severely for his treachery, bound his magic, and locked him up in a cell in Order Headquarters. He had forgotten that Weasleys, by virtue of being a very old pure-blood family, could not survive having their magic bound. Bill had died before his family had even been informed of his capture.

Ron was deeply upset. He wanted very badly to go and see his mother and father.

"Percy is going to visit them," Aurelia assured him. "He's helping move your Mother back home from St. Mungo's."

"What?! Mum was in St. Mungo's?"

"Percy thought you knew," Aurelia explained. "She stood up for Charlie and Hermione and was banished from Order Headquarters for it. They didn't let her leave before revoking the Secret. That really messes people's memories up. Your father had to rush her to a healer for treatment. She wasn't physically hurt but it took awhile and some restricted potions for her to get her bearings."

"Why don't people tell me these things!? I'm not a baby! I need to know!" Ron exclaimed angrily. He quickly realized his anger was misplaced though and so he took a deep breath and muttered about having a long talk with Percy, then said, "Why can't we see Charlie and Hermione yet?"

"Let me go relieve my sister and then I'll let you know if you can see them," Aurelia promised.

Shortly, she returned and showed them to the right ward. Charlie was awake but clearly under the influence of tranquilizers. Another healer was working on him, running tests in an attempt to determine what had been done to him so it could be best counteracted. Harry and Ron took seats between their friends' beds. Harry would have held Hermione's hand but Aurelia warned them not to touch her while the Skele-gro finished rebuilding some of the bones in her wrists and hands that had been seriously damaged in her continuous fights with her captors. When the healer was finished with Charlie for a while, Harry and Ron wanted to know everything.

"We Apparated into the reserve and I knew something was off but I couldn't figure it out. Before we knew it, we were surrounded by Order members and Portkeyed away. It wasn't Headquarters at first, the new one, I mean. It wasn't until we were drugged that they told us the Secret and took us there. Hermione fought all the time. They wanted us to take them to you but we're not Secret Keepers so then they wanted us to bring you to them."

"Did they hurt you?" Ron asked.

"Not me. You know I've always been more sensitive to potions than the rest of you. There were times I could barely move because of all the susceptibility draughts they gave us. Mum tried to get them to lower the doses but they didn't think they could risk it.

"Hermione got the worst of it though. She fought back, hard. She broke Tonk's nose fourteen times. It was pretty impressive. It made them angry though. They broke her hands so she wouldn't punch them anymore."

"Wasn't so bad," Hermione slurred, her voice scratchy and quiet.

The healer that had been working on Charlie hurried into the room.

"Boys, you'll need to wait outside while I examine Ms. Granger," he said. With a flick of his wand, he also closed a curtain between Charlie's and Hermione's beds.

Aurelia stopped them in the corridor on the way back to the waiting room and sent them home to eat. Hermione would be with the healer for at least an hour having an examination and getting tests run. When the boys returned, they found the Charlie had been allowed to walk around the hospital on Percy's arm and that he and Percy were speaking with a Daily Prophet reporter about Bill's heroism in defending his family. Ron joined them, lending Charlie another person to lean against, particularly when he started crying. Bill's death hit the brothers hard.

//-//-//-//-//-//-

By the end of the day, all the spells and potions that had been tried on Charlie and Hermione had been identified and Professor Snape was brewing something that might be able to fix the interactions that had occurred between potions that should not have been administered concurrently.

Charlie was discharged from the hospital the next day. He was given a supply of calming potions and told to relax. After seeing Charlie settled in Percy's home, Harry and Ron returned to the hospital to see Hermione during visiting hours. Hermione was driven to catch up on school work. Ron had brought her the assignments and books and they were all working through the lessons. Two hours into their Potions work, Hermione realized that she needed a text Ron and Harry had left at home. Harry portkeyed home to get it. The trip back to the hospital was longer since he had to walk from home to the portkey poles and from the poles to the hospital. As he walked down the otherwise quiet corridor, he heard Ron and Hermione talking.

"Your mother was really something, Ron. She fought for us."

"I heard. Percy says she's as good as new now. He wanted her and Dad to move into the villages but they wouldn't leave the Burrow."

"They can't. They have to watch Ginny. She's a fanatic. Your dad's afraid to leave her with the Order alone in case they listen to her ideas."

"Really? I knew she really hates the Death Eaters but has she gone around the bend?"

"Yeah. After I broke Tonks' nose the third time in an hour, Ginny came at me with a candlestick after they'd tied me up again. I kept escaping; I think it was accidental magic but I'm pretty sure they thought I was doing something muggle to get out or they'd have cursed the ropes to be magic-resistant."

"Ginny considered you a friend."

"She used to. Like I said, she's a fanatic now. Maybe she always was and we just didn't see it because she thought we were with her."

"It was the diary that did this to her. She was never the same after that," Ron whispered sadly. "My family's a wreck. Ginny's lost and Bill's dead. I should be fighting to end this war but I can't choose a side. Either way, I'd be fighting against family."

"You have to fight for what you believe in," Hermione said.

"I don't feel strongly enough either way to fight for principles. I could only fight for family," Ron said. "How could I pick a side? The choice was made for you, wasn't it? After the Order kidnapped and hurt you."

Hermione shook her head. "I don't have to pick a side. I can't. The Death Eaters want me dead because I'm a muggleborn and the Order's never getting me back after the way they interrogated my parents."

Harry listened from the doorway. Hermione had every right to feel that way. After all, she had no idea the extent to which the Death Eaters were protecting her here and at Harry's house. She wasn't on good terms with any Death Eater but Percy and Electra, a sure blood purist, still hadn't let her know the Secret of Eyrie's Edge. With Hermione still recovering though, he didn't feel that this was the time to tell her that she was surrounded by Death Eaters living in villages she couldn't see, in a hospital where she was being watched over by Death Eaters and sympathizers. Instead, Harry passed the book to her and they returned to school work. There would be time for politics when Hermione was back in his home and could be reasonably sure of her own safety no matter what invisible Death Eaters might be living or lurking nearby.


	33. A Bloodless Plan

As School paused for the midwinter holidays, the situation outside the wards was still hectic but hardly frantic. Still, inside the wards, there was a growing tension between those that knew the Secrets and those that only knew that something was missing in their understanding of where they were. In particular, students were getting nervous over rumors that Death Eaters were lurking invisibly just outside the school.

This issue led to an unlikely meeting between longtime enemies. Electra, Regulus, Percy, Aurelia, and Severus arrived one evening at Harry's house to extend an invitation from the Dark Lord. Harry was very reluctant to meet the leader of the Dark who had hunted him for years but the encouragement of the adults in his life swayed his decision. Of course, he did not go unprepared. He took both school portkeys, his portkey to France, and his wand as possible escape routes and he asked that Aurelia and Electra, neither of whom were Marked, stay with him at all times.

On the walk to the portkey poles in the village, Harry was reminded by his escorts that it would be best to address the Dark Lord as Mr. Riddle. Once they used the portkey pole to Neidrham, they took the fifth portkey in that town square, a black one, to a small manor. The adults led Harry to the front door where they were met by a house elf dressed in a clean, white bath towel who led them inside and through ornately decorated corridors.

When the group turned one last corner where the house elf left them and approached the open door to a bright and welcoming sitting room, Harry froze. It was only the comforting pressure of Aurelia's hand on his back that kept him from drawing his wand and preparing himself for battle.

"Harry, please give him a chance. You know now that he isn't what Dumbledore wanted you to believe of him," Professor Snape said quietly.

Just then, Voldemort appeared in the doorway and Harry was shocked by how different he looked than when the prior times they had met. In the light and the green robes he wore, he looked remarkably less frightening than when he was dressed as a Death Eater and going into battle in the dark of night.

"Mr. Potter, it is good that you have come. I understand that you are likely distrustful of me and so I would like to make an Unbreakable Vow to you."

Harry watched as Voldemort Vowed not to attack Harry Potter whilst the young man was a guest in his home. Finished, he pocketed his wand and stepped back into the room to allow his guest inside. While the older men remained in the hall, Harry and the ladies made to follow Voldemort.

"Please do come in Mr. Potter. Have a seat," the Dark Lord said.

Harry remained stubbornly standing just inside the door. For once in his life he may be shocked speechless, but that did not mean that he was not defiant.

"Ladies, would you leave us alone," Voldemort stated.

"My Lord, Harry has asked as a condition of coming to this meeting that we remain with him at all times," Aurelia said with a respectful bow of her head.

"Very well," he said amicably. He drew his wand and Harry tensed but the Dark Lord only conjured two more cushy brown armchairs for the ladies.

"Do have a seat, both of you," he said, inclining his head politely and gesturing towards the newly formed chairs.

The ladies sat and watched silently as Harry and the Dark Lord looked each other over.

Harry spoke first. "Why did you ask me to come here, Voldemort?" he challenged.

"Please call me Tom. Or Mr. Riddle, if you prefer," he said. "And to answer your question, I extended an invitation in order to speak with you. I think we need a conversation, perhaps overdue, regarding my change of heart over our conflict. There is also the matter of the fears of your fellow students which are not entirely unfounded and must be addressed. But, we should start from the beginning which is, of course, when we first met many years ago.

"I do not know how much you have learned about the night your parents died... the night I killed them. Though it will likely bring you little comfort, I wish to set that story straight.

"I came after your mother for what she did to my people and to my family. I lost many people dear to me that night. When I found your parents, I was happy to be able to kill them. Your father tried to protect you and your mother but he failed. I then went after your mother, who was convinced that I was after you, likely because she had been told the same prophecy Dumbledore told you."

"How do you know...?" Harry interrupted, finding his tongue again even through his gritted teeth. Hearing his parents' murderer talk about their deaths was not at all what he would have chosen to do with his time. But still, he could find none of the need for revenge that had abandoned him not long after he had learned of what his mother had done in the first wizarding war.

"Which prophecy you were told?" Voldemort... no, Tom... finished. "Madam Vablatsky suspected it the moment she covered that lesson in your class and her suspicions along with those of my loyal spy Severus seemed to indicate what Dumbledore had done.

"But as I was saying, I exacted revenge upon your mother. I had not planned for you or your father. When you were left orphaned, I admit it was impulsive, but I decided to create a mind link between us. After my childhood in a filthy orphanage, I feared that the same might happen to another child because of me so I wanted assurances that, were you ever mistreated, I would know immediately.

"Unfortunately, Dumbledore arrived while I was casting the bond and the spell he used to kill me was partially transferred to you. I'm sure you know what happened as a result as we both live with it every day."

"But everyone says my scar is from the Killing Curse," Harry said.

"It is. That is what Dumbledore used."

"He wouldn't," Harry insisted.

"Just as the Order would not use Imperius on worried parents or mind-control on your friends?" Tom challenged.

"Oh."

"The bond I meant to create would not have scarred and would have been significantly weaker and less invasive than our current one but the curse that hit me was transferred partially to you through the forming bond, interacting with the spell I was using in the process.

"Before I returned to my body, I could not feel the effects of the bond. In truth, even if I had known of your treatment, I don't know that I would have intervened. You and your family have cost me a great deal: my wife and daughters, the family that took me in when I was 16 and treated me as their own, and years of my life when I was needed here.

"When we met during your first year at Hogwarts, I was doggedly focused on regaining my body, so much so that I did not care that it put me in close proximity to Dumbledore. By the time I realized I had an opportunity to kill him, Quirinus Quirrell, my host, had already spent his magic trying to detain you. No command to leave you and kill Dumbledore before the old coot could attack could get my servant's attention."

"You asked me to join you and then you tried to kill me," Harry reminded him.

"I did ask you to join me, and I did demand the stone which you lied about having. However, at no point did I attempt to kill you or ask Quirrell to do so," Voldemort said indignantly.

"You did. I heard you shouting to Quirrell. 'Kill him!' you said," Harry challenged.

"Of course I did. Dumbledore arrived and I tried to make Quirrell leave you and fend off the real danger. It didn't work, as you know."

"I don't believe you," Harry said.

"That is fine. You are not required to."

"How could I? You came after me in my second year too. You ordered a Basilisk to kill me."

"That may be possible. You encountered my diary, didn't you?"

"Yes. It had your 16 year old self in it."

"Yes. It had a version of me as a teenager. But you must understand, Mr. Potter, that I am not that person. Not only have a matured considerably since my teenage years but that diary was also the product of Dark Magic and as such, it exaggerates the parts of me that go into the use of Dark spells."

"I don't believe that either."

"It's true though Harry," Electra said. "The simulacrum spells are all from the branch of Dark magic that feeds off of hatred and anger."

"I'll never do Dark magic," Harry said stubbornly.

"No one is asking you to," Electra whispered. "And you don't have to take our word for it. You can look these things up when you return home."

"Fine. But you've come after me so many times," Harry said to Voldemort.

"I did not interfere in your third year. In your fourth, my servant aided you. I needed your blood but for your troubles, you won the Triwizard Tournament."

"You killed Cedric."

"Peter Pettigrew killed young Mr. Diggory."

"On your orders."

"Yes. On my orders."

"You don't even care," Harry challenged.

"I do not make excuses for my actions."

"Isn't that what you're doing now?" Harry argued.

"I am trying to explain why I have sought your assistance. I am obviously doing a poor job of it," Voldemort said with a sour expression. He did not like to fail at anything.

"To get to the point, it was the prophecy fiasco at the Ministry that made me realize that you had not been given a choice, had never really considered the issues. You were flying blind, so to speak. The war was going badly, had been for a decade, and I thought perhaps if you knew what was truly at stake, you might chose to oppose Dumbledore's principles. It was a long shot, but I had to take the chance. We badly needed a victory and I badly needed a break from the headaches you caused."

"What do you mean 'I caused'. _You_ gave _me_ terrible headaches."

"It was our bond. Every time you were abused or betrayed, I got headaches."

"And when you were angry, I got them," Harry said. "How did Aurelia end up writing to me?"

"I asked her too. She is my healer and I knew I could trust her to get angry about abuse. I gave her two tasks: to convince you to leave your abusive family and to tell you about the real causes of the war."

"Did you know I would come to the village?"

"Certainly not! I was quite surprised when the Blacks told me that they had met you. Of course, they could not tell me where or how and I still do not know where it is in Eyrie's Edge that you live."

"I don't want to be a Death Eater. My living here has nothing to do with that."

"I didn't think it did. But you have done remarkable things for our cause."

"I have not," Harry protested.

"I know that it was you that learned of Dumbledore's use of the Philosopher's Stone and you that told Professor McGonagall about it. It was also your flight from the school that truly swayed public opinion on the whole matter. Things would have gone very differently if it had only been my Death Eaters' children that left. Instead there were people from every house, every class, every blood purity that left in the night. The first reports in the press were not condemnations of my people because children of both sides had vanished by their own choice. It seemed that something other than the war had gone wrong at Hogwarts. The press delved deeper and reported Dumbledore's insanity rather than another tragic chapter in a war that had long since wearied the public."

"I see," Harry said. He was not prepared to take responsibility for all of that but he knew that he had been the cause of the conflict over the Stone and he was proud of that.

"It is time that the war ends and the issues at its heart return to the political arena, but I cannot achieve this alone."

Harry finally stepped forward and took a seat. Only then, when Tom sat as well, did Harry realize just how polite the Dark Lord was being.

"Then I believe it is time to turn our thoughts to less unpleasant things. I am sure that you are aware of the political situation in magical Britain at present. I am equally certain that you know of your own political clout. I believe that, if we work together, we might be able to end the fighting without significant loss of life."

Harry waited for the Tom to continue. If the man's plan was a good one, Harry was certainly supportive of that goal and would consider the Dark Lord's suggestions.

"The first issue we must address is an image problem. I must act to show that my Death Eaters and I are truly invested in peace. I believe that it could be good to begin with the students from Hogwarts. As you know, there are rifts forming between those who do not know Death Eaters personally and those that do. I believe it would be beneficial to remedy that situation."

"Just what are you planning to do?" Harry asked warily.

"Did your muggle school ever have 'Parents Night'?" Tom asked with particular disdain.

Harry shook his head no.

"Good. The experience was humiliating. But I digress. I would like to show the students that Death Eaters are not just warriors. They are not always frightening. I believe a sort of Parents Day, where Death Eaters and their families come and visit would be a fitting remedy for the situation. Students would undoubtedly tell their parents and introduce the new public concept of the Death Eater.

"My only concern is that some students would be frightened enough to attack before explanation was done. Certainly, there would have to be some sort of introduction before any Death Eater entered the same room as the children but I worry that any appearance will be perceived as an attack. What do you think?"

"Well, I think that most everyone who might attack first and ask questions later has left to return to Hogwarts already. As long as the professors knew what to expect and explained it properly first, I think that the students would manage. Some might be scared, but I think I know who well enough that I could arrange to have the right people near each of them if I knew enough in advance when this was going to happen."

The Dark Lord nodded thoughtfully. "Do you believe it would work? Would students, and their parents, learn the intended lesson?"

"I think so," Harry said. "I know it was an important change in my perspective when I met the Blacks and the Snapes, and even Mrs. Malfoy."

"Then I shall move ahead with this plan. Would you be willing to work with me on such projects in the future?"

"I would have to decide on a case-by-case basis," Harry warned. He would not agree to anything Tom Riddle could cook up without knowing what exactly it was in advance.

"That is understandable. I will make the arrangements and one of my people will contact you to let you know when the event will take place. I thank you, Mr. Potter."

By the time Harry and his adult escorts parted ways and Harry headed home, he was actually feeling hopeful. There were fences to mend. Ron and Hermione needed to be able to return to their families. Harry would help Tom Riddle if it meant a peaceful end to the war.


	34. Tom Visits the School

Two days before Midwinter and the morning that Hermione got to leave the hospital and return to Harry's home, the paper again had important news to report. Dumbledore had finally acknowledged mounting pressure and declining public favor. He made another of his odd speeches, this one about how his work at Hogwarts was finished and he was ready for retirement so that his time and energy could be devoted to projects that truly needed it. The whole thing was rather chivalrously framed but the frustrated public was not in the mood for face-saving. They did not appreciate the speech but were glad that Dumbledore was finally out of reach of their children wherever he had disappeared to after leaving Hogwarts.

The next morning, the paper carried both McGonagall's and Sprout's reactions to the news. Professor Sprout wrote that she would do her best to ease her students back into a normal routine. She also stated that it simply would not be fair to expect students to take exams and warned the public to expect somewhat lower OWL and NEWT scores than in the past. In stark contrast, Professor McGonagall proclaimed that 'Hogwarts in Exile' would continue for all those that chose to remain. She assured people that NEWTs, OWLs, and final exams would be given and passed since her students were receiving outstanding lessons and extra help whenever it was needed. The students should not be punished, she said, for the inability of the adults in their lives to manage mature conflict resolution and negotiation.

Over the next few days, some of the neutral students left the village school to return to Hogwarts but most parents chose to support McGonagall after her impressive press release with its assurances of academic quality.

This was the political climate for the holidays. Harry, like many other students and families, took the opportunity to go shopping. Those who did not wish to leave the wards were treated to another market day but Harry and his friends made use of his portkey into the French Rue d'Etoiles for gift shopping. They spent an entire day just being teenagers and enjoyed it immensely. When they got home, they had more fun wrapping the parcels in brightly colored holiday paper and sending them off with their two owls in several trips spread over the course of a week. They also took the time to decorate the house for both Christmas and Midwinter. Hermione was still unable to go out into the towns so they were planning to have their own Midwinter celebration at home.

/-/-/-/-/

On the second day back in school after Midwinter holidays, Professor Snape took Harry aside after class and told him when the Dark Lord's plan was to take place.

Harry spent the appointed day making sure that friends or his with Death Eaters in the family knew that they were to sit next to students whose reactions Harry was worried about. Just after noon, when the professors led their classes to the Great Hall for the assembly, Harry double-checked that his orders were being followed. Not one of the friends he had asked to help him had neglected their task.

When all the students were seated, Professor McGonagall spoke. "As some of you may be aware, there have been rumors of a dangerous sort circulating. They have caused conflict between friends and classmates. That cannot be allowed. We are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to host many visitors this afternoon in the hope that you may all ease your minds and reconcile with your neighbors. I must stress to you all that you are in no danger from these visitors and I expect exemplary behavior from each and every one of you."

She gestured towards the doors with her wand and they opened. The students and professors all turned their heads to watch as the chosen Death Eaters and their families filed into the room. First came Professor Snape, Aurelia beside him, each holding the hand of one of their children. Harry caught a rare smile on Professor McGonagall's usually stern face but also the confused looks from Ron and Hermione before he turned his attention back to the doors. Two families Harry did not know had come in while he had been looking elsewhere. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy arrived next. The Death Eaters and their families were lining up in the front of the room where professors and the older students were offering up their seats to the children guests and the one woman who was heavily pregnant. Harry saw that Voldemor... no... Tom himself had come in after the Malfoys and was followed in by Percy, then Regulus and his family, then by one more family Harry did not know.

Harry looked over the audience and saw a fairly predictable split between those who knew the visitors and those who did not. The latter looked far more confused than the former but Harry could also see wariness in the eyes of a few of both groups. Few people had recognized Tom as the Dark Lord until he began to address the gathered students.

"Children," he began, "I want to first give you my solemn promise that you are in no danger from myself or my followers. Secondly, I believe introductions are in order. For those of you who do not know, I am Tom Riddle, also known as the Dark Lord or sometimes Lord Voldemort."

There were numerous gasps and more than one student tried to jump out of their seat only to find their neighbor pulling them back down and whispering to them. Harry himself had a hand on Hermione's shoulder when she tried to jump into dueling stance.

"Please," Tom said. "We came not to fight, but to welcome you. It is true that some of you cannot see beyond the boundaries of the schoolyard but if you could, you would find only streets lined with homes, the homes of our families and friends."

With that, Mr. Riddle began the introductions. He gave the names of each adult and child present. As he did so, those who were Marked rolled up their sleeve to show their Dark Mark to the students and professors before covering it again.

There was surprisingly little whispered communication going on during the Dark Lord's speech, perhaps because people were either respectfully silent or watching and listening too critically to comment.

When introductions were through, students and teachers were invited to come forward and converse with their visitors. For a long moment, no one stood or said anything. The professors watched the students, the visitors shifted nervously, and even the students with family standing at the front of the room seemed to want someone else to make the first move.

Deciding that he had had enough of the tension, Harry stood and, as all eyes turned to watch him, he walked to the end of his row and turned to approach the guests. He walked right up to the Dark Lord and extended a hand.

"Welcome, Mr. Riddle," he said, loudly enough for the whole room to hear.

The Dark Lord took Harry's hand and shook it. "The pleasure is mine, Mr. Potter," he said.

With that, several students stood and went to their families. Draco Malfoy was the first. He reached his parents and bowed his head to his father and hugged his mother before leading them off towards a few free seats at the table he and his friends had claimed.

Harry walked down the line to where the Snapes stood. He greeted them all and allowed himself to be embraced by Aurelia. He stayed with them until more students approached their feared professor. Ironically, to most of the students who had once considered themselves to be Dumbledore supporters, Professor Snape seemed like the safest bet on who to approach first.

Harry went next to the Blacks, who had only a few students whom they already knew sitting with them. Before too long, Harry noticed that some of the Death Eater children were taking it upon themselves to introduce some of their more reluctant classmates to some of the more lonely-looking families. Harry looked around and saw Ron with Percy but Hermione was still only standing at the back of a small group of muggleborn students who continued to eye the visitors nervously.

Harry looked around. Other than sending them to Professor Snape or Percy, he didn't know if the other visitors would wish to be introduced to muggleborns. He went to attempt to convince them to approach the Snapes, who had told Harry that they weren't against muggleborns, but the students proved unwilling. The Dark Mark still scared them. All of these students were really only in this school because they had feared Dumbledore. Finding themselves in a room with Death Eaters had not been on their agendas in attending this school. They were merely guests in the homes of friends and, though those friends had tried as Harry was to get them to talk with the visitors, it was an all-around uncomfortable situation for them to be in.

As Harry talked with them, he belatedly realized that, at some point during the conversation, they had ceased listening and begun to stare open-mouthed and wide-eyed at a point just behind Harry. Harry turned to find Tom Riddle standing there.

"Mr. Potter, would your friends allow me to speak with them for a few moments?"

Harry was unsure of how to answer. He hoped the Dark Lord knew what he was doing.

Tom said. "I know you have probably heard a lot about me, some of it most unflattering. Am I right to assume that all of you are muggleborn?"

Hermione gathered her Gryffindor courage and challenged, "That's right. What do you have to say to that?"

"Do you know that I was raised by muggles?" Tom answered. "I would not wish my upbringing on any of you but I do recognize that many of you had a better childhood than my own. I am very pleased to see you here in this school. Are you enjoying your lessons?"

It was Hermione that answered again. "I miss Hogwarts' library," she said under her breath.

Tom Riddle laughed, not an evil cackle or a high giggle, but a pleasant chuckle. "It is quite a remarkable collection, isn't it? Hopefully you and all of your classmates will be able to return soon. Have any of you taken the special class in magical culture and customs here?"

They all nodded. It had been assigned to each muggleborn and half-blood student from their first day there.

"Do you like it?"

"It's interesting," a fourth year Hufflepuff replied timidly.

"Did you learn anything useful?" Tom asked.

Another Hufflepuff answered this question. "It was good to know about Midwinter before my friend and her family celebrated it. I didn't know anything about it until class."

"That's good," Tom said. "Does anyone else care to share a story?"

A few other students told the Dark Lord about their holiday celebrations before he led them all over to meet certain families. While he avoided the Blacks and the Malfoys, the others were perfectly polite to the children even though some of the students, such as Hermione, were known to be 'mudbloods'.

When the Dark Lord was finished with the muggleborns and once again alone, Harry approached him.

"What was that all about?' Harry asked barely loud enough for Tom to hear. "I thought you hated muggleborns."

"I do. Most of them stay only long enough to learn how to use their magic, leaching our resources away, and then they live more in the muggle world than the magical one and fail to teach their children our customs if they themselves even bothered to learn them in the first place."

"Then what's so different about these ones you were civil enough with?"

"They are making an effort. I have no choice but to respect that. I was in their shoes once, after all. However, if they abandon our ways now that they know them, I will hate them more than I hate their ignorant brethren."

Harry glared at the Dark Lord but straightened his face before walking away and making rounds among the visitors.

//-//-//-//-

That evening, when Ron, Hermione, and Harry had returned to Harry's house, they took some time to discuss the day's events. Hermione was more interested in posing questions she did not expect anyone present to be able to answer. She was looking for the plot behind the assembly and behind Voldemort's behavior. She didn't believe that Voldemort would accept peace without victory after so many years of fighting. She also kept asking, "If it's really just homes around us, why aren't I allowed to see them? It must be something else."

When Harry started explaining that these families were used to being secretive for their own safety and that Tom was trying to bring peace so his causes could be addressed in the Wizengamut, she realized immediately that he had kept things from her, big things, and she was not pleased. She stormed up to her room and locked herself in. Harry and Ron were actually worried for a while that she was packing her trunk to leave but when Ron went to check on her later that night, she had fallen asleep with her trunk still unpacked. They would work things out in the morning.

//-//-//-//-

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were able to talk things out the following morning. Hermione was not pleased at being left out and she was reluctant to trust Harry because of his seeming trust of Voldemort. Harry told her what he and Tom had talked about both at the manor and at school.

As usual, Hermione's love of a research puzzle pushed aside her other concerns and she eagerly searched the library, the study, and all three students' schoolbooks until she could verify or refute Harry's questioning of Dark simulation magic. She found that Tom and Electra had told Harry the truth.

With Hermione again at Harry's side, though with reservations, Harry turned his attention to other matters. He still wanted to know the rest of the real prophecy about him. He had found, back when he was still at Hogwarts, that the only place to find the prophecy as long as Dumbledore wouldn't tell him was the Hall of Prophecy at the Ministry of Magic. It was a long shot. But Harry decided to check with the Ministry. He had seen the glass sphere smashed but there was a very small, miniscule chance that there was some other record.


	35. Breaking the Stalemate

Harry left the village immediately after school on Friday afternoon and traveled by floo to the British Ministry of Magic. Appearing in the atrium, he submitted to a wand check at the security guard's desk and then took the lift to the Department of Mysteries visitor's area. He waited impatiently for twenty minutes before an energetic young witch appeared to escort him to the Hall of Prophecy through a part of the building he had not seen before.

"Since the Hall suffered severe damage recently, you may not find what you seek," she told him cheekily as they walked along rows of glass orbs.

"I already know one of my orbs was smashed. Is there a way to check if there are any other records of prophecies about me?" Harry asked.

"Well why didn't you ask that in the reception area?" she asked teasingly as she spun around and led Harry back the way they had come. When they were nearly back to the visitor's desk, she stopped and turned into a side room. It proved to be a records library where shelf after shelf held books.

"_Accio Harry Potter prophecies_!" she said. As two books left the shelves and flew towards her she explained proudly that the spell only worked for such a vague class of items because the room had a very thorough cataloging system that cross-referenced each and every entry contained therein. She caught the books with a hover charm when they got close enough to touch and set them down at a small, spindly table. She then summoned parchment, ink, and a quill as well and began flipping through the books to locate the relevant entries. Using a copy charm, she copied three Potter family prophecies that had a very small chance of applying to Harry and then closed the book and Banished it back to its place on the shelf before opening the second book and leafing through it. This book was considerably smaller and had smaller print arranged in charts. When she finally found the entry she sought, she shook her head and copied the section on the parchment before casting an ink-drying spell and rolling it up to hand over to Harry.

"Our records of the prophecy about you have been lost. Seers do not remember their prophecies. However, yours did have two witnesses. The parchment lists them. One heard the prophecy in its entirety and one heard only part. You might try contacting them and asking to see the memory."

"Thank you," Harry said, taking the parchment with some disappointment. He had not learned anything he hadn't already suspected. The witch led him back out through the visitor's area and to the lift. Harry rode to the Atrium but just as the doors were opening, an alarm went off. It took Harry a moment to see why.

The Order was storming the Ministry. Dumbledore stood at the center of the pack. Tonks and Hestia Jones were busily securing the floo while someone Harry did not recognize cast anti-apparition wards. Others followed Dumbledore towards the lift.

Harry stepped aside and, before anyone could recognize him, he pocketed his wand and took his animagus form. He soared over the Order members and circled as he tried to think. Then the spells started to fly between aurors entering the Atrium from a side door and the Order members attacking from the center of the room, Harry landed in a secluded corner and changed back. He had to get out and get help. The aurors were at a disadvantage here. They were all trying to get through a single door while the Order stood by and Stunned them one by one. Harry grabbed his wand and tried to use his family ring to portkey home only to find that there were new wards up to block that. He heard Tonks shout that they had to hurry up with the wards against long-range portkeys before anyone could make one. Harry hurriedly checked his pockets. He knew he had his portkey to his apprenticeship attached to the drawstring on his money bag. He activated it just before the final wards were put in place.

With a crash, Harry landed in a heap in an alley on the Rue d'Etoiles. He immediately used his ring to return to his home. With only a few shouted explanations to Hermione and Ron on his way out the door, Harry hurried to get help. Belatedly, he realized he could send Cedar as well and summoned her. He sent her with a message to the Snapes while he took bird form and flew to the Black home.

It took only a minute to explain to Regulus, a Legilimens, about the problem and then he was off to his Lord's side to get reinforcements. In his wake, Electra called the house elves and ordered them to mind the children while she alerted the village hospital to the possibility of casualties. On her way out the door, she warned Harry to go home and wait there. Death Eaters did not take children into battle. He would do the most good where he could sit alone in silence and speak to Tom Riddle through their mind link if the Dark wizard had need of information about what Harry had seen. Harry reluctantly returned home and prepared for the vision of battle through his scar. After taking a mild sleeping draught, Harry lay in bed and entered the dream-state that brought on visions best.

Just minutes later, Harry saw the first scenes of the Death Eaters in full battle robes appearing in a room that Riddle's mind told Harry had self-contained wards, effectively creating an un-warded bubble in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, prepared against the possibility of something like this happening by a Death Eater in the department. From there, Harry watched as Tom directed his warriors out in groups. Tom himself climbed to the floor just below the Atrium. That was where the Minster's office was and it was the most likely place to find Dumbledore and his main fighting force. Sure enough, this was where the Death Eaters with Tom first found Order members. The aurors there were outnumbered and loosing. It took them long, dangerous minutes to realize that the Death Eaters that had arrived were going to back them and not start a three way war. The skirmish ended in retreat for the Order. They dispersed quickly and the Death Eaters had to split their forces again in order to follow them and also check that the Minster was not in any more danger.

Tom had not battled any one person specifically on Level One, sending choice spells at any opening any among the enemy presented while his forces fought the contingent of Order members in attack/defense pairs as trained. When he pursued a pair of Order members to the Atrium, he did engage. At first, he and the two Death Eaters who had followed him seemed outnumbered, but the Order's numbers included Dung and a near squib who simply could not match Malfoy, Riddle, and Snape in battle. Tom found himself fighting with Nymphadora Tonks, sending a barrage of offensive spells and then quickly casting a shield against possible retaliation. It did not come as Tonks dodged into a stairwell only to roll down the stairs, richochet off the opposite wall, and continue down the stairs and out of sight. Tom left her, closed the door to the stair well, and sealed it. By then, Malfoy and Snape had killed or severely wounded five opponents in a coordinated barrage of cutting curses and driven the last into retreat. It was then that he acknowledged Harry's presence in his mind.

"Mr. Potter, you are distraught at seeing damage done to former friends. A good fighter sets their emotions aside in battle. I cannot control my own and yours. It is time for you to leave."

Harry felt himself being forced from Tom's mind. Harry woke with a start half an hour later as the potion wore off. There was only waiting to do then. Finally, Percy arrived, looking worn out in sweaty black robes with his mask clutched in one hand.

"We won. There were a several injuries on our side and a lot of aurors are in St. Mungo's but the Order was beaten back and Fudge was liberated. Hagrid was captured..." Percy proceeded to list the fate of Order members. Harry knew a few names. Vance was injured, as was Diggle. Doge was dead. Dung had been wounded before he disappeared. Percy had been the only Weasley in attendance. Harry wasn't sure whether to sigh in relief or feel more anxious. This battle could well be the start of all-out war but it was possible that it had been decisive enough to unravel the Order and prevent further bloodshed. That no Weasleys had fought for Dumbledore suggested there might be hope yet but it was still a waiting game.

//-//-//-//-

The morning paper the next day was full of news on the attack and its aftermath. "Eaters save Minister," the headline read. The article listed the casualties and reported that all known and suspected Order members were wanted for questioning. Tom sent his spies in immediately with his letter of Marque. Percy and Charlie stopped by Harry's home to tell Ron that they had seen their parents there as well and they were well, having also been cleared of involvement in the Battle at the Minsitry, but they had not seen any other Order members. It eased a bit of Harry's tension to hear this. He visited the Snapes that afternoon for more news. Professor Snape was of the opinion that it was a small miracle that no one was being punished for their loyalties, only for their actions. He knew how hard Tom had worked to secure that promise from the Minister. It would have been typical of Magical Law Enforcement to arrest and try everyone with ties to Order for the attack on the Ministry. Nevertheless, justice was a small victory considering that wizarding Britain was on the verge of splintering, falling into an anarchy that could make civil war look tidy. The uncertainty of what the Death Eaters would do to preserve their newly won control was nearly matched by fear of another attack from Dumbledore's forces in a bid to recapture the reins of government. Worse than fears of attacks on muggles and magical combatants was the real possibility of a series of coups as the Death Eaters and Order members took, lost, and retook control over the government. Tom requested Harry's presence again.

This time Harry and Aurelia met Tom in his study.

"If we can't assure the public that the government is stable, I fear there may be a mass exodus from this country," Tom explained solemnly. "We saw it before. It crippled magical advancement here. We had only just begun to recover."

"What are you planning to do about it?" Harry asked. He knew it was happening already. Ron had received an owl from his mother letting him know that they were fine and telling him that Fleur had left for France. She was barely married and already a widow.

"My people are already working with the _Daily Prophet_ and to emphasize that government is functioning. What we need is for the Order to come forward and surrender. They must know they can't win back control in battle before the government would collapse but that doesn't mean they won't try to hold out and hedge their bets. I want to try an appeal to members directly, to ask them to come forward even if it goes against the wishes of their superiors."

"I'm going to give another speech then?"

Tom nodded.

Harry took a seat across the table from Tom and picked up a quill. He knew only that the prophecy called him the Bringer of Peace and that the seer at the Midwinter festival had told him to be a connector. Whether that meant that this was the right course of action, he wasn't certain but it was a cause Harry could get behind regardless. He didn't need to make his choices with any prophecy in mind for it to come true. He had only to think with his head and his heart.

They crafted a message to Order members asking for a peaceful end. He passed on the assurances Tom had received from the Minister that no one would be punished for their membership in organizations on either side of the war, only for their actions. Though he did not say it, Harry knew that it was only the Order that would be held accountable for acts of war and then, likely only for the attack on the Ministry.

Tom had explained that two factors were at play: the fact that Death Eaters held the upper hand and the desperation of the people to see the war cease. Amnesty had been secured for all fighters before the attack on the Ministry; it had only been a matter of time before the announcement would have been made by the Minister's office but then the Order had tried to take Fudge hostage. It had nearly caused the whole deal to be thrown out but Tom had convinced the Minister that keeping the amnesty was the fastest way to peace and so it had been agreed that only the attack against the Ministry would not fall under the already signed amnesty law.

All that remained was to have aurors speak with all known associates of the Order and the Death Eaters so that crimes could be recorded even as they were forgiven. Tom had already made appointments with the aurors for each of his own people and more than half had already been cleared of all charges. Harry only hoped that his speech would help convince the Order members to partake in the process as well.

Harry gave the speech to an invitation-only gathering of reporters, Ministry officials, and already-cleared Order members that afternoon. It had already fallen to page 2 however, by the time the _Daily Prophet_ was printed the next morning. Dumbledore had been rushed to St. Mungo's during the night by an anonymous witch that Harry suspected might have been Tonks. The old man had been pronounced dead of natural causes.

Tom contacted Harry and the two worked on a press statement to appease the reporters clamoring to find out how Harry, once Dumbledore's protégé, felt about the news.

"_Magical Britain won't be the same without him_," Harry said. "_He will be missed. His service to our people was honorable, as was that of his followers. We owe them all a debt. I renew my call for followers of Albus Dumbledore to go before the Reconciliation Committee and seek amnesty…"_

_/-/-/-/-/-/_

In the days that followed, there was a rather disconnected effort on the Order's part to combat Harry's press statements. They painted themselves as betrayed by Harry and angry that everyone thought that the loss of Albus Dumbledore was an end to the movement. It all came to a head when, a week after Dumbledore's death, Tonks appeared at an event hosted by the Minister of Magic and made an impassioned speech about how much the Dark had hurt her family. Then, she drew her wand, aimed at the Minister and spoke the incantation for a cutting curse. The Minister's bodyguards' stunners hit her simultaneously. She died. A note was found on her person that proved this was suicide. Her wand had been fake and she had taken heart-weakening potions in advance so that stunners would be enough to kill her.

The news of her death was the final straw for Remus Lupin. He didn't like the way this war had ended, but he could see that it he had well and truly lost. Having not taken part in the attack on the Ministry, his only hesitation in seeking amnesty had been the concern that it was a ploy to round up Order members. But when Lupin arrived at the appointed office and turned himself in, he walked right back out three hours later without penalty.

Once Remus had been released, the Order members that had not been involved in the Ministry attack quickly came forward and were cleared. Criminals couldn't participate in politics. With the conflict clearly destined to be carried on in the chambers of the Wizengamut and the ballrooms of the manors of the social elite, it was in their best interest to disarm. Those who were known to have been involved in the Ministry battle and knew they could not look forward to release either remained in hiding or fled the country.

As soon as the Snape and the Blacks agreed that it was safe so long as one of them accompanied them when seeing former Order members, Harry, Ron, and Hermione wasted no time in visiting loved ones outside the wards. Hermione could be relatively certain of her reception with her parents. They would be angry that she had disappeared on them but overjoyed that she was safe and had returned to them. However, Ron and Harry, accompanied by Percy, Charlie, and Professor Snape, faced uncertain welcome at the Weasley home.


End file.
